LeBron James: LeBron James heaps praise on Golden State Warriors

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry were today named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, November 16 through Sunday, November 22.

James’ 15 points and 13 assists saw him become only the second player in league history – after Oscar Robertson – to rank in the top 25 in both lists. “But when it comes to our sport, we’re so eager to say, “Who is better: Oscar or [Michael] Jordan?’ or ‘Jordan or LeBron or Kobe [Bryant]or these guys?’ instead of just accepting greatness”. It was his fifth assist of the game and 6,387th of his career, which put him ahead of Norm Nixon at No. 25. Added Love, who informed James he had joined Robertson: “One of, if not the, most unselfish superstar, best player in the game, and it doesn’t surprise me….”

(On starters being exhausted in the fourth quarter): “I agree, they were exhausted no question about it. But nonetheless, we had a three to tie with Marcus (Morris), and then we don’t execute the last play”. “So none of that would be possible without them”.

But while the Cavaliers marched on, it was another dismal night for the Philadelphia 76ers, who slumped to their 15th straight defeat since the start of the season in a 100-95 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are apparently good listeners. While he didn’t quite catch Miller, he moved into the company of Robertson, a do-it-all guard who is sometimes overlooked when some fans debate the game’s top players.

Between 2010 and 2014 when he was with the Miami Heat, the Raptors lost all 13 games. Now a champion, the following season would mean nothing but defending the crown as game after game each team would want to take a toll on the champs and in hopes to derail them of the throne.

Cavs coach David Blatt was not aware James matched Robertson until after the game. James however had full praise for his teammates and coaches and said that it would not have been possible without their help and the credit for it goes to Cavaliers and Miami Heats. “That’s an awesome, amazing accomplishment”.

James has 25,274 points and 6,396 assists in his career after Monday’s game.

Forward Andrew Nicholson scored 18 points off the bench and center Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and five rebounds for the Magic, which rallied from an early 12-point deficit to take a 42-34 lead in the second quarter before Love heated up. The Cavaliers’ star drove the lane, jumped and made a quick pass into the corner to Kevin Love, who knocked down a 3-pointer.

Centre Tristan Thompson grabbed 14 rebounds and the Cavaliers’ 18 three-pointers represented a season-high.

Orlando was outscored 33-21 in the third quarter and trailed by as many as 23 in the second half. Kyrie Irving is still out due to a left knee injury, Iman Shumpert due to a right wrist fracture, Timofey Mozgov due to a right shoulder injury, and Mo Williams due to a right ankle sprain.