CLEVELAND -- LeBron James attempted to hoist a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and, with his right foot, inadvertently flailed upward and connected between the legs of Andre Iguodala as James was stripped of the ball.
There was no whistle on the play, and the Golden State Warriors carried on to a 118-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
However, the no-call didn’t go unnoticed by some of the Warriors players. Golden State teammate Draymond Green has repeatedly been penalized for his past kicks, which the league deems an “unnatural act.”
In an interview with ESPN on Thursday regarding the James kick, Iguodala said: “You know what’s crazy? I did not feel it.”
“When I look back at it, I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know this happened,'” he said. “Somebody told me about it. I didn’t know what happened, but I’m not going to be the one to say someone should not play, because you want everybody to be at full strength, right?"
James was not asked about the play following Thursday's film session.
Green was suspended for Game 5 of the Finals last year after an altercation with James in which he accumulated his fourth flagrant-foul point of the playoffs, which carries an automatic one-game suspension.
Prior to that incident, he was assessed a flagrant 2 and fined $25,000 for kicking Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams between the legs. He received a flagrant 1 for throwing down Houston Rockets forward Michael Beasley in the first round.
A league source told ESPN that James’ kick is not under investigation. Iguodala says the kicking of legs on jump shots happens quite frequently, and he believes it’s much ado about nothing.
“What they say, Draymond did it how many times last year? ... Throughout the whole season last year? They did a mix tape. It was like 100 [times]. Guys don’t even notice it,” Iguodala told ESPN. “So when it happens, guys are like [nothing]. Especially in that moment, adrenaline is flowing.”
But did James essentially violate the same "unnatural act" rule Green has been accused of violating?
“That’s not for me to decide, right?” Iguodala responded. “Right?”