LeBron: Gasol made 'helluva play' on game-saving block

LeBron James had a chance to play the role of heartbreaker in front of President Barack Obama and a sold-out United Center in Tuesday's season opener, but Pau Gasol had other ideas.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers trailing by two, James drove hard to the basket and found himself in a one-on-one with Gasol. But instead of coming up with an acrobatic finish, James found himself on the wrong end of Gasol's sixth block on the night.

Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler sealed the victory with a last-second steal to deny James and the Cavaliers a win.

After the game, James praised Gasol for coming up with the stop.

"I was able to turn down the lane, but I made myself very small on my finish," James told Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "Pau already had five (blocks) at that point. He made a helluva play."

Gasol certainly made a heady play in rotating over to challenge James' shot, but that likely wouldn't have mattered had James not been bothered by a bad back. The 30-year-old James got minimal lift on the shot, which allowed Gasol's length advantage to win out.

Regardless, after bowing out to the Cavaliers in last season's playoffs, Gasol and the Bulls made James look very small indeed in an emotional victory on opening night.