NEW YORK -- It’s been a frustrating night for LeBron James, and things almost boiled over midway through the fourth quarter against the Nets.
Miami is without three of its starters, and entered the final period trailing by 12 points. The Heat have been on the wrong end of many 50-50 calls by the officials, and overall the way the game has gone has had James more visibly upset throughout than we’ve seen him in quite some time.
On a play where James got out in transition, he delivered a forearm to Andrei Kirilenko in an attempt to clear some space. Kirilenko’s teammate Mirza Teletovic saw it and clearly didn’t appreciate it, so he stopped LeBron from getting to the basket with a violent grab around the neck, before quickly releasing.
James lost it momentarily, and went after Teletovic before teammates stepped in.
The referees called James for the offensive foul for the hit to Kirilenko, and Teletovic received a flagrant-one for his role in the incident.