Thompson: LeBron usually follows up bad outings with 'something legendary'

In case the Boston Celtics or their fans have gotten a little overexuberant about how well the team contained LeBron James in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Tristan Thompson offered a stark warning Monday.

"Usually when LeBron has these kind of games, the next game he does something legendary," Thompson told reporters, according to The Athletic's Jay King.

James had 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting and a minus-32 rating across 36 minutes in Game 1, but Thompson is correct about the superstar's ability to rebound from past struggles.

James had his toughest outings of this year's playoffs in each of the previous Game 1s, scoring 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting against the Indiana Pacers in the first round, and scoring 26 points on 12-of-30 shooting against the Toronto Raptors in the conference semifinals. He followed those outings with 46 points and 43 points in the series' Game 2s, respectively, which were both resounding wins for Cleveland.