Despite his rivalry with the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James defended rookie center Jordan Bell, who threw down an off-the-backboard dunk with less than three minutes left in Monday's contest against the Dallas Mavericks with his team up by 25.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr confronted Bell after the play and apologized to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle on the rookie's behalf.
Asked about the incident, James indicated he had no problem with the play.
"Coach is always telling us to play 'til the end, play 'til the final buzzer," the Cavaliers superstar told reporters Tuesday, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor.
"But we also have a code as well in our league that, you talk about no showboating. I don't know, man. Listen, we're all men. Stop me from dunking. We're not trying to hurt nobody. Trying to play hard until the final buzzer.
"Would it have been OK if he had laid the ball up? Get mad because he threw it off the glass and caught it? Would he have been mad if he threw it off the glass and missed it? There wouldn't have been no conversation. So, you play the game until it's over. Yeah, he threw it off the glass, dunked it, so what?"
Some of Bell's teammates, including Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, offered similar opinions and raved about the dunk.
