LeBron James said he apologized to his team after subbing himself out during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 109-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks Saturday.
With the Cavs up 72-46, reserve forward Jared Cunningham threw the ball out of bounds, trying to pass to James. Following the turnover, James stalked to the bench and sat down. Atlanta inbounded the ball before Richard Jefferson could check in, leaving Cleveland with only four players on the court and prompting referee Tony Brothers to call a technical foul on the Cavs, reports ESPN.
“I blew a gasket. You know what that mean?” James said after the game. "I apologized to my teammates for it.”
Rule No. 3, Section I, Part A of the NBA rulebook states, "Each team shall consist of five players. No team shall be reduced to less than five players.”
Cavs head coach David Blatt made light of the James’ substitution incident after the game.
“Well, he was frustrated,” Blatt said. “He knew we weren't playing right, and thought we were playing hockey. A hockey sub.”
"But he was frustrated. I understand his frustration, but obviously, you shouldn't do that," Blatt quickly added.
Regardless, the Cavs pulled out a win against the Hawks, despite missing Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams, Timofey Mozgov and Iman Shumpert due to injuries, according to Cleveland.com.
It was the first time that the Cavs and the Hawks met this season, following the teams’ series in last season’s playoffs. The Cavs swept the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Another notable incident occurred with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter, when Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was ejected for arguing with officials after only one technical foul.
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