Lance Stephenson has practically made a career out of annoying LeBron James. Remember that time four years ago, when LeBron played for the Heat and Lance played for the Pacers, that Lance blew on LeBron's ear during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals?
The more things change, the more they remain the same after all. After stints with five other teams, Born Ready is back with the Pacers. And, with the Cavs and Indy matched up in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Lance is back to harassing LeBron.
Earlier this season, LeBron called Lance "dirty" and gave him a light shove. In Sunday's Game Four, he was a little more aggressive. With Stephenson hounding him, LBJ slapped Lance's hands and then hit him with a butt bump.
LeBron is fed up with Lance..then hits him with the booty bump pic.twitter.com/uQT5DxemOX
In the fourth quarter, Lance goaded LeBron into drawing a technical foul.
After years of trolling LeBron, Lance finally pissed him off at the right time pic.twitter.com/vlztKBl5cE
After the game, LeBron chastised both the refs and Lance.
LeBron James on altercation w/ Lance Stephenson: "I should have never gotten a tech in the first place. It's a timeout called, this guy is fouling me to my bench. I give him a little nudge and he falls to halfcourt. Come on." pic.twitter.com/QvBfDhbx5R
On Instagram, LeBron's teammate J.R. Smith used an emoji to convey his perspective, calling Stephenson a "straight clown."
JR Smith calling Lance Stephenson a clown on IG. 👀 pic.twitter.com/4Ip22e3MHB
Lance also got into it in the final seconds of the game with Jeff Green.
"He's not going to fight," Green said post-game, per ESPN. "I'm not going to fight. It's not worth it. I mean, if we wanted to fight, there's a big-ass parking lot out there and we can fight. But at the end of the day, my job is to keep my composure, go to the free throw line, knock one down and then move on. It's not worth it to give that extra energy to him."
The Cavs won a hard-fought Game Four, 104-100. The series has shifted back to Cleveland. Game Five will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST. The game will air on TNT.
