Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving couldn’t help but troll LeBron James in the team’s 109-98 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, calling out the reigning NBA champ for his free-throw shooting abilities.
Early in the first quarter, with the Lakers trailing by 3, James missed a technical free throw, albeit not at a critical time — but Iriving jumped at the opportunity to take a friendly dig at his former teammate.
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“That’s your best free throw shooter?” Irving said with a smile.
The comment wasn’t entirely off. James ranks 12th in the league in free throw percentages with 70.4 and a career percentage of 73.4.
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The Nets easily routed the short-handed Lakers on Thursday night for their season-best fifth straight victory.
Irving had 16 points and seven rebounds while James Harden scored 23 points. Joe Harris added 21 with six 3-pointers but the Nets were still without Kevin Durant, who missed his third straight game with a strained left hamstring.
“Missing [Anthony Davis] and then our starting point guard in Dennis ]Schröder], it’s a big blow for us,” James said after the game. “But they’re missing key players, as well. Neither team was full strength. We just didn’t play up to our capabilities tonight. Give them credit.”
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“We’ll see them down the road again with a whole entire healthy Lakers team,” Irving said. “That’s what we wanted, and we expect that.”
LeBron James scored his 35,000th career point while getting 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers.
The Nets are 4-0 on their West Coast road trip. They will finish it off with a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
