LeBron James loses it: ‘I blew a gasket’

LEBRON James apologised to teammates after his uncharacteristic brain snap cost the Cavaliers a technical foul.

CINCINNATI, OH - OCTOBER 7: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on against the Atlanta Hawks during a preseason game at Cintas Center on October 7, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Hawks defeated the Cavaliers 98-96. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

THE Cleveland Cavaliers had little trouble in getting a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday (AEDT), but even during a comfortable victory, LeBron James found himself exasperated with one of his teammates.

Midway through the third quarter, Jared Cunningham missed LeBron with a pass to the post that ultimately went out of bounds, and James, clearly frustrated, immediately walked to the sideline and sat himself down on the bench.

It wasn’t a legal substitution, so as the Hawks inbounded the ball and brought it up the floor, the Cavaliers were stuck with only four players, which is against NBA rules and resulted in a technical foul.

It didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things since the Cavaliers were up by 26 points at the time, but LeBron still apologised to his teammates afterward for the incident.

“I blew a gasket. You know what that mean?” James said.

“I apologised to my teammates for it.”

James was asked what he was so upset about, considering the Cavs’ lead was so large at the time.

“That’s not the point,” he said.

Lebron tries to sub himself out, gets a technical foul. #sports https://t.co/9SbgYJFMK5

— Sports for You (@sportsforyou) November 22, 2015

Cleveland coach David Blatt made light of the situation after the game.

“Well, he was frustrated. He knew we weren’t playing right,” Blatt said. “And (he) thought we were playing hockey. A hockey sub.

“You know, Bron is a lot of things — a lot of great things — but probably where you’re not going to see him is out there playing for the (Lake Erie) Monsters (an AHL team based in Cleveland) or the (New York) Rangers. You know what I mean?

“But he was frustrated. I understand his frustration, but obviously, you shouldn’t do that.”

The superstar finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while Kevin Love had 25 points and 11 rebounds to spark the Cavaliers, who boosted their best record in the Eastern Conference to 10-3 with a 109-97 win.

Australia’s Matthew Dellavedova added 12 points and three assists in his 28 minutes on court as starting point guard.