LeBron James has orchestrated many incredible comebacks during his career and Jeff Teague recently spoke about being on the receiving end of a masterclass from him. On the Club 520 podcast, Teague shared how LeBron was completely unfazed at halftime even with his Cleveland Cavaliers being down big against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2017 NBA playoffs.
“I’ve never won a playoff game against him,” Teague said. “I played in four series with this man, I got swept four times… I was playing for the Pacers, only year I played for the Pacers, we up 30 (in) Game 3, I’m like, ‘I finally beat this dude, bro.’ He walking at halftime saying, ‘We good, we good, everybody, keep their head up.’ They were down eight in the third quarter. I looked at them, I said, ‘It’s over, they gonna beat us bruh.'”
“I’ve never won a playoff game against him… One time we was up 30. I swear to God… I’m like, I finally beat this dude. He walking at halftime said, ‘We good, we good, everybody, keep their head up’… I said it’s over."
Jeff Teague on LeBron James 😅pic.twitter.com/78avTfJzDq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 27, 2024
Teague did make a bit of a mistake there, in the sense that the Pacers’ largest lead in Game 3 was 26 points in the second quarter. They were still up by 25 at halftime and I don’t blame him for being confident that he was finally about to get that elusive win.
The largest halftime deficit that a team had overcome in the playoffs, at the time, was 21 points (Baltimore against Philadelphia in 1948), but LeBron then rewrote the history books. The Cavaliers roared back in the second half, outscoring the Pacers 70-40 in the period to win 119-114 and take a 3-0 lead.
LeBron had 28 points in the second half alone and finished the game with 41 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Head coach Tyronn Lue had benched Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in the fourth quarter as they had struggled in the game, so LeBron got the job done with basically the role players. That made the comeback all the more impressive.
As for Teague, he ended the game with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal. It was a solid showing, but solid isn’t good enough when facing a LeBron-led team. The Cavaliers then beat the Pacers 106-102 in Game 4 to complete the sweep.
It was the third season in a row LeBron had swept Teague’s team in the playoffs. They had previously faced off in the Conference Finals in 2015 and the Conference Semifinals in 2016 when he was with the Atlanta Hawks.
Teague mentioned he had been swept four times by LeBron but I don’t see a fourth series they played. So, his record against James in the postseason was actually 0-12, not 0-16. I suppose that should make Teague feel a bit better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu7NzsRelhQ
Jeff Teague Revealed Why He Shoved LeBron James In The 2016 Playoffs
There is one moment that stands out for me from a negative standpoint when thinking about LeBron’s battles with Teague and the Hawks. Toward the end of Game 3 of the series in 2016, Teague shoved James into the crowd and he revealed why he did it on his podcast.
“My fault, GOAT. GOAT James. We was losing, sh*t I’m a sore loser. I ain’t win a playoff game against that n****, ever. I was sick of this sh*t. Motherf***ing fans in Atlanta will cheer for him, he running down the court. I say, ‘You know what b**ch, I got something for you!’ Shoulder checked the sh*t outta that n****, he went to the stands. I got so much hate, ‘If he would’ve been hurt, I would’ve killed you b****!’ I’m like, ‘Ayo, I gotta get off the internet.’ That’s when I first deleted Instagram. That was my first time deleting Instagram. I was like, I gotta get off this sh*t.”
The frustration with losing all the time just got to Teague. That was a moment of madness, and fortunately, James did not get hurt. It might given the Cavaliers as a team some additional motivation, though, to ensure that the series would be over in four games, which is exactly what happened.
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