“There was a boxout on the free throw line. His elbow got kind of high, it got me — if you look, if you watch the film — it got me off balanced a little bit, and his elbow lifted my arm, and I basically tried to swim move, swim down on him, on his arm,” James said. “And when I swung down on his arm, he got off balance and the left side of my hand grazed his face. And I knew right away. So, I knew right away I had caught some part of his head. So, I went over to apologize to him, and obviously, you guys saw what happened after that. But definitely accidental.” – via Dave McMenamin @ ESPN
James, who said he has not spoken to Stewart since the incident, said his case was only made stronger in the days since the Lakers-Pistons game, pointing out how Russell Westbrook got a bloody lip from the Knicks’ Quentin Grimes on Tuesday and how James himself was hit in the face by Domantas Sabonis in the Pacers game, requiring a bandage on his eyelid afterward. “I hate to see that, what escalated after that,” James continued. “I didn’t think it warranted [a suspension]. I thought it warranted an ejection because of what happened after that. Having me, probably, still in the game and the excitement from the fans and what could possibly happen after that, obviously. But a suspension, I didn’t think it was warranted. But the league made that call, and we’re here today.” – via Dave McMenamin @ ESPN
LeBron James was napping in the city that never sleeps on Monday when the NBA announced that the Los Angeles Lakers star would be suspended for the first time in his 19-year career and have to miss Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks. “Rob [Pelinka] called me. I missed his call,” James told ESPN of the Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager dialing in the bad news. “As soon as when I checked my phone and it was a missed call, I was like, ‘I know I’m suspended.’ “I mean, it’s some bulls—. But whatever.” – via Dave McMenamin @ ESPN
