The Miami Heat absorbed their second straight loss on Friday night, this time against the Brooklyn Nets, and franchise star LeBron James admitted his team is growing weary in its quest for a three-peat.
As quoted by Sportsline.com, James told the media after the Heat's 104-95 double-overtime loss to the Nets: "It's a long and grueling season for all of us, not just us because we're the champs. We've played a lot of basketball in our four years together. It's taken a lot of wear and tear on all our bodies. It's mentally fatiguing. And you just try to find the motivation the best way you can as an individual and as a collective group."
Before losing to the Nets, the Heat were also defeated by the New York Knicks on Thursday night. The team was without three starters for the game against Brooklyn - Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier. James admitted that losing three starters was difficult to overcome, even for a team as deep and talented as the two-time defending champions.
"We're banged up right now," James said. "We're not an excuse team right now, but we've got three starters [out]. And even though we've got a lot of depth, it's hard to make up for three starters being out, so we could all use a break for sure."
The four-time MVP scored 36 points, grabbed seven rebounds and issued five assists, but fouled out with 36 ticks left in the first overtime. It marked the first time that he fouled out in a regular season game since 2008.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
