The big/little brother relationship between LeBron James and Mario Chalmers went beyond the usual yelling, to a near physical confrontation on Wednesday night. Cameras caught James trying to go after Chalmers, as teammates held him back. LeBron went on to apologize for losing his cool, though Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t necessarily mind the mini-explosion. Per the Palm Beach Post:
“Our communication improved at the end of the game,” Spoelstra said. “Some of it was explosive conversation. It’s been a while since we had that type of communication. It’s good to see.”
Indiana F Paul George drilled an open three-pointer with 10:03 left in the third quarter to put the Pacers ahead 56-47. That prompted James to get after Chalmers.
However, James apologized to Chalmers for the outburst and later reiterated his regret on Twitter.
“It’s all family,” James said after the game. “I was wrong and I told him that and we moved on. For me and ‘Rio, we’ve been there before and we’re able to just get over it.”
But Spoelstra said that kind of exchange is what this team needs.
“It depends where it gets to,” James said. “It was an emotional point in the game right there and we both had our differences in what should have happened, but like I said, I was wrong and I was ready to move on. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re not. But for our team, we’ve been together so long that we’re able to have those moments and move on.”
