The LA Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns contest had some high octane action both on and off the court. One such moment included LeBron James and Cameron Payne having some verbal exchanges.
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It was a rematch to the first round of the 2021 western conference playoffs. The LA Lakers had revenge on their minds, having been unable to defend their championship last season, courtesy: The Phoenix Suns. However, things didn’t go as planned as the Suns would have a comfortable win over them.
The Suns defeated the Lakers 115-105 and were up as much as 30-points at one time. It would not be wrong to say that the match had a lot of tension going, both off and on the court. One such moment was the trash talk between LeBron James and Cameron Payne.
Both James and Payne had got into a verbal spat during the 2021 playoffs as well. The play involved James throwing a half-court pass to Anthony Davis, with the AD having plans to dunk it. However, Davis had some disturbance on the way via Payne. Though AD didn’t say anything, James didn’t like Payne resorting to the dirty play.
The animosity between the two continued when they met for the first time this season. With James being caught on camera, telling Payne to be humble.
LeBron James and Cameron Payne indulge in a session of trash talking.
As the LA Lakers continued to find their rhythm in their recently updated squad, the Suns had a special night that not only included defeated James and co but also Chris Paul scoring his career 20,000th point. The Suns’ backcourt combined for an impressive 45-points, helping them secure the win.
Though Suns guard Cameron Payne had a rough shooting night, it didn’t stop him from indulging in some trash talk with four-time champion LeBron James. Though the audio wasn’t clear, we could repeatedly hear James tell Payne, “Stay humble.”
It seemed James was reminding Payne of the time he was sitting at home without a job. After being released by the Toronto Raptors in 2019, Payne played for a Chinese basketball team and in the G League before he signed a two-year deal with the Suns.
The match also made headlines regarding a tiff between the Lakers’ big men Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard, with the two having to be separated by their teammates. However, the two later clarified they had sorted things out. Overall it seemed like a night the purple and gold team would like to forget
