According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, after Stephen Curry got a layup attempt blocked by LeBron James, Curry tried to crack a joke with James, who responded by telling Curry to "get the f--- out of" his face.
- After LeBron James blocked a layup attempt by Stephen Curry toward the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Curry tried cracking a joke with James.
- James, however, was having none of it and angrily told Curry to get out of his face.
- This moment illustrated the intensity of not only the matchup and James and Curry's relationship, but James' sour mood as the Cleveland Cavaliers blew an opportunity to steal Game 1.
LeBron James was apparently in no mood to joke around in the waning moments of the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Late in the game, Stephen Curry drove the lane for a layup, which James smacked off the glass — an essentially meaningless block, as the Warriors had already sealed the win.
Afterward, Curry and James exchanged words. James eventually shoved Curry out of the way, angering Klay Thompson, who also had some words for James.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst told Zach Lowe on "The Lowe Post" podcast that while Curry tried to joke with James about the play, James had an explicit reply.
"And Steph turns to him — and I think this is sort of an indication of the mindset of the two teams — Steph turns to him ... I think what he said was, 'Boy, you couldn't let me have that one?'
"And LeBron basically told him to get the f--- out of his face."
To Windhorst, the moment perfectly captures the contrast between the "happy-go-lucky" Warriors and James as he fights uphill against the Golden State juggernaut.
Here's the block and resulting trash-talk:
The play neatly captured how tense the relationship between James and Curry has become over the years.
And James had plenty to be upset about by the end of the game, having had one of his best games ever and nearly pulling off a shocking upset of the heavily favored Warriors, only for the Cavaliers to lose in heartbreaking fashion.