By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lebron James struggled to connect to the basket in the fourth quarter of the L.A. Lakers loss against the New York Knicks, finishing with 4/15 during that stretch. And his final attempt with the Lakers down by one in the last play? Blocked by Mario Hezonja.
James praised Hezonja for that game-winning defense. According to the Croatian forward, it was all about an overall effort by his team trying to make James feel as uncomfortable as possible.
“He just missed shots. Don’t get that twisted. He had 33, 8 and 6. If you are saying you’re the reason Lebron is missing shots, you’re an idiot,” Hezonja said when asked about the Knicks‘ defensive approach vs. Lebron, per ESPN’s Ian Begley. “We did a good job of sending him where he doesn’t like to be.”
Regarding his block, Hezonja said the following: “He’s one of the most un-guardable guys in the world … but when we’re on the court, who cares? I think you gain respect by fighting for that so I just didn’t care. I wasn’t trying to look around, I was just trying to play as a hard as I can and try to stop him.”