Former Phoenix Suns forward Deonte Christmas recalls regular-season matchups with LeBron James when James was a member of the Miami Heat alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh Led by LeBron James, the flames ignited.
Former Suns guard Archie Goodwin tells the story.
“This was when he was with the Heat,” Goodwin said. “One of my teammates – I won’t name him. LeBron got the ball on the right wing. He was right next to our bench. So, I was on the bench and my teammates were on the bench. So, LeBron catches the ball and he’s looking at P.J. Tucker. One of my teammates yelled, ‘Yo, this is what we live in -‘. The shot broke the -s-. We’re like Live it. So, LeBron passed the ball. He looked back at him. He said, “What did you say? “One of our coaches at the time, he looked at my teammates and was like, ‘Yo, shut up. Leave him alone.’ So, my assistant coach was cursing him, ‘Don’t wake him up.’ He did nothing the whole game. It was the third quarter, so he stayed calm. We were only down four or five. He only had six points. No Bulls – he only had six points. “He finished with 38 points Contest. He finished the game with 38 points. … He went crazy and we ended up losing by 20 points. “
Channing Frye later confirmed that Goodwin’s story was true.
Based on Goodwin’s recollection of the game, it appears to have occurred on November 25, 2013.
In that game, the Heat defeated the Suns by 15 points, 107-92. Contrary to what Goodwin said, James scored 35 points, not 38. He also made 11 of 14 field goals and 11 of 11 free throws, earning the Heat their 11th win of the 2013-14 regular season.
Miami’s only player to score more than 20 points against the Suns was Wade. The shooting guard had 21 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 33 minutes with the Heat.
Bosh – arguably the team’s third-best player – had a memorable performance. He made 2 of 9 shots from the field and only scored 7 points and 4 rebounds.
As for Phoenix, Frye (who later became James’ teammate with the Cleveland Cavaliers) was the Suns’ leading scorer. In 32 minutes of playing time, he scored 16 points and hit 4 three-pointers.
But Frye was just one of six Suns players to score in double figures. Tucker scored 10 points and Goran Dragic scored 14 points. Gerald Green scored 12 points.
In addition, Markieff Morris and his twin brother Marcus scored 12 and 13 points respectively for the Suns.
The 2013-14 Heat finished the regular season with a 54-28 record, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Miami then reached the 2014 NBA Finals, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
It’s nice to see on Christmas Day that Frye and Goodwin were able to look back on a slightly embarrassing moment from their former team and laugh about it.