Latest / Bleacher Report / LeBron James Talks Game 3 Loss vs. Timberwolves_ Game Ball Went to McDaniels _ 2025 NBA Playoffs

Transcript

LeBron James Talks Game 3 Loss vs. Timberwolves_ Game Ball Went to McDaniels _ 2025 NBA Playoffs · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Illing this.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: I mean it impacts our team. We understand what he
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: brings to our team and what he's done since these
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: since the acquisition, So you know, it definitely took a
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: big blow for our team.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: You've been down to one before in a series on
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: the road.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: What what are the most important things you guys have
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: to do to bounce back for that game?
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: For we got to control the controllables, and I don't
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: think we did that tonight obviously. You know, you know,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: nineteen turnovers on the road is not gonna be a
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: good ingredients for for winning giving up thirty points like
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: you know, off those turnovers, you know they had twenty
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: plus points, you know, and transition as well, So you know,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: we got to control the controllables and if we do
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: have to give ourself a good chance to win.
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: You've shown an appreciation for Edwards game when you've been
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: asked about him over the years. Tonight, you guys were
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: able to, I guess enjoy like a joyful competitive nature
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: between your two between the two of you, and he
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: just was able to kind of just control the action
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: at the end. How tough is he at this stage
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: of his career. It's contend with in a playoff situation.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, obviously, you know, you know, you're only
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: as as great as your teammates, you know, allow you
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: to be as well, you know, And obviously you know,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: you guys know how much praise I have for Aunt
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: and his development over the years. And you know, we
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: had a hell of a summer, you know, and I
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: love everything about Aunt, you know, but in a in
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: the course of a playoff series and things of that nature.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: You know, when you have your guy step up for you,
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: it allows you to be able to crack the scenes
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of defenses throughout the course of the game. And I thought,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: you know, the game ball went to Jada McDaniel's, you know,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: he you know, he had thirty and he was aggressive
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: from you know, from the from the start to the finish.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: I mean, I can't remember the last time he took
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: over twenty shots, you know, So that just lets you
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: know what his aggressive, what his mindset was.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: And uh, I mean Aunt was just Aunt, you know.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: So Lebron, you guys tied the game at one O three,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: one O three with four thirty seven left. They closed
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: the game on a thirteen to one run. I know
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: you referenced some of the miscues. But but was there anything
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: that stood out over the final four and half minutes
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: that they were.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Able to do to create that separation.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, I can remember some plays been out of
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: all of them, but I'll take a look at the film.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Obviously, I think it was a tie game.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: He said one O three, one O three and hit
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the three right top of the key. You know, we
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: came back down I believe missed the shot, and then
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: An drove baseline and found uh nas for another three.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I guess I can't remember. Nah, they just made plays, man,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: we had opportunities. I think Rory had some good looks.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: You know, ar had a good look as well. We
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: just just can't make it.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: We can make them go run.
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: I think it was a mid January after a lots
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: of the Clippers. You and Jenji talked about how the
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: margins at that point in time, we're really tight. You
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: guys have been able to create margins since the Luca trade.
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: Did tonight feel like a night with Luca and not
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: at full strength with the turnover sort of mounting, do
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: you feel like the margins just you guys just offentially
• 3:15
  Speaker 5: ran out of room.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I mean you just I mean first of all,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: I mean in the postseason, there is no room for error.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: You know, in the regular season, you're able to make
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: up for certain things throughout the course of a regular
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: season where you can, you're gonna have a little bit
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: of room for era, you know. But when our team
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: was constructed at one point and in the regular season,
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: we didn't have much room for that as well. But
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: in the postseason, obviously you're not gonna play a perfect game.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: But the more that you you know, make mistakes on
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: top of mistakes on top of mistakes, you know, things
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: that can be controlled, then it's not gonna give you
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: They had thirteen more.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: You know, goals at the rim than we did, you know,
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: and pretty much that's the game right there. You have
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: thirteen more. We have seventy eight attempts, they had ninety one.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: And just with turnovers, live ball turnovers.
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: The what do you guys need to do to get
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: the minutes better when when Jackson is on the court.
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: What needs to happen when you guys are playing bigger
• 4:15
  Speaker 5: to be more effective in those stretches.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: I mean, we all just got to be better I mean,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: obviously Jackson is not getting I mean, he's well tonight,
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: he played eight minutes.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: It's not.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: I say it's even enough to to kind of dissect
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: and see what we can get out of it.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Obviously, but we just all need to be better.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: We got to rebound better, we gotta screen better, we
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: got to play with more for us when we've been really,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: really good. Jackson has played extremely well for us, and
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: we still believe in them. We hope we can continue
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: that going into the rest of the series.
• 4:50
  Speaker 6: Vendo and Vendo and Jordan both played more minutes tonight
• 4:53
  Speaker 6: than they did in a game two for Jordan's played
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: more tonight than he did in the previous two games.
• 4:58
  Speaker 6: How valuable I mean, I know Vandal struggle with fouls,
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: but how viable were their menace? And what can they do?
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: What can carry over to game four?
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: They just bring toughness, man, They bring toughness. They can
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: guard multiple positions. Vandal rebounds with the best of them.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: You know, Goodie can guard multiple positions. It just it
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: brings us toughness. And obviously, you know, versus Minnesota, they
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: got you know, a bunch of you know, bigger wings.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: You know, you know, they're very you know, got.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: A lot of length out there, a lot of stronger guys,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: so you know, it helps you just have that activity,
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: you know, and you know and that and that demeanor
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: when those guys get in the game. Question, thank you,