Lue rebukes Barkley's call to 'take someone out'

Tyronn Lue doesn't want to see any of his players getting targeted for playing well.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers shattered records by hitting 25 threes in Game 2, TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley advocated for a member of the Atlanta Hawks to "take someone out."

That drew the ire of Lue while talking to reporters on a conference call Thursday.

"I don't think there's any place in our game to take someone out if they're playing well," Lue said. "I think you can take it upon yourself to play harder and do things to stop it or stop a team from playing well.

"But when it gets into trying to hurt guys or trying to take guys out, that's just not right. Hopefully the referees will keep an eye on it and make sure it's a clean game. We don't mind if it's a physical game, but clean and everything that they do and we do is basketball related. I don't believe in taking guys out and trying to hurt guys because a team or a player is playing well."

Barkley's pointed comments also ruffled the feathers of an old nemesis in Cleveland native Charles Oakley. The retired enforcer gave a stern warning to Barkley to stop running his mouth.

As for the Hawks themselves, they weathered the barrage and played within the rules (save for an excessively hard foul Kris Humphries delivered to LeBron James). But after the game, several Hawks players criticized the Cavaliers for showboating.

Related: Millsap calls Cavaliers' 3-point onslaught in Game 2 unprofessional