Miami Heat superstar LeBron James fouled out of the team's 104-95 double overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday and accused the Nets' Andrei Kirilenko of flopping during the game, to which Kirilenko responded by saying he didn't take it personally but he thought James escalated a separate issue on the court.
"It's all right," Kirilenko told The Record (N.J.) after James accused him of flopping. "I don't really care, I don't take it personally. ... He's a strong guy, he tries to overpower his defenders. And every time he's trying to [get] open, he has to use his force. I didn't flop. That's what I can tell you."
Kirilenko was one of the Nets that was assigned to guard James and also told the paper that the Nets plan was to "be annoying" to James. James was eventually called for his sixth foul in the first overtime when he was called for a charge on Shaun Livingston as he was driving through the center lane. The Heat eventually forced a second overtime without "King James" but "AK-47" and the team ended up notching the victory in the second extra frame.
James, who scored 36 points, accused Kirilenko of flopping after the game after he fouled out for the sixth time in his career.
"I thought Kirilenko flopped a few times to be honest about it, and he got the call," James said after the game, according to ESPN. "The last one that fouled me out could've been a charge for sure. He put his hands on me as I drove and that got him off balance and he got the call. But he definitely flopped a few times."
Nets forward Mirza Teletovic had an altercation with James after he was whistled for flagrant foul 1 after he wrapped his arms around James in the fourth quarter, leading to James coming at Teletovic but never coming to blows as the two were separated.
Kirilenko believed James escalated the situation.
"I think he escalated the conflict rather than just let it go," Kirilenko told the paper. "I was a little bit surprised because it wasn't a situation to get into a fight, Mirza just tried to slow him down and understand that something is going wrong so he let him go right away. [LeBron] just overreacted a little bit."
The Heat and Nets don't play again until Mar. 12.
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