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LeBron backs Lue's decision to rest him: 'He's never steered me wrong'

Ken Blaze / USA TODAY Sports

The backlash to the Cleveland Cavaliers resting LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love for Saturday night's nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Clippers was as swift as it was predictable.

Cavs general manager David Griffin said he heard from the league office about the decision "seven minutes after it was announced," while former NBAers who played in romanticized past eras where nobody got nights off took to their soapboxes.

The Cavs tuned it out, took their 30-point loss to the Clippers in stride, and returned to Staples Center the following night to beat the Lakers, with the well-rested Big Three combining for 101 points (seriously) on 34-of-58 shooting. With 13 regular-season games remaining, the Cavs' focus is firmly fixed on tuning up for the playoffs.

"It's a long, strenuous season and the NBA does a great job of putting the schedule together as best as they can," James told reporters after Sunday's win, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "You're going to have back-to-backs. You're going to have certain games where certain things fall on certain nights, but a coach's job is to figure out a way for their team to compete for a championship, not compete for a game."

Players are often the target of scorn from those who feel they should be taking the floor as long as they're healthy, but Cavs coach Tyronn Lue owned the decision, and said James was actually "pissed" about having to sit.

"Obviously it sucks at times because certain games you only play in certain cities once, or you play certain teams once on their home floor, but for me personally, I want to play in every game," James said. "I wanted to play last night but my coach felt like it was best that I didn't play last night, so I'm going to go with my coach and he's never steered me wrong."

Irving, whose sore knee Lue cited as a reason for his day off Saturday, felt grateful for the extra bit of rest after hanging 46 points on the Lakers on Sunday.

"I can't stress enough how important rest is," Irving said. "You've got veterans who have come before us who play 82 games that have their opinions and we're just in a different time now. The smart way of taking care of your body and understanding what the important goal is at the end of the season - it's at the forefront of our minds. We're playing for a championship run, playoff run."

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