LeBron James talks dominant win over top-seeded OKC Thunder & playoff preparation | NBA on ESPN

The game is the whole way to win from a leadership standpoint of not letting up. You know, you're a plus one and you kind of knew that the OVC could come back. Can you just take us through kind of your approach to that and you're keeping your teammates along the way? Yeah, I mean, between them and Cleveland, they're the best teams in the NBA. So, they're the number one team in the West and you can't have a let up no matter what the score is. They're always gonna make a push and that's why they are where they are at this position in this part of the season. So, it was a really good game for us and we can build on it. What do you think was the biggest reason you were generating such a good rush in three and then you got started and not in that rush? We just played with a little, some pace. We got to where we wanted to get to offensively and AR did what AR did, what he does every single night. Yeah, two layups in a row, bogus. He blocked that one? Okay, okay, I'll give you one. Second one was nasty. AR does what AR do, man. And now, obviously, DeLuca was spectacular as well. But all around performance by everybody that came in the game tonight was good. Since the Boston game, you guys went through a bit of a lull. But now, in the last week or so, you've won at Memphis, you beat Houston, you beat OKC here. What type of momentum do you think you've been able to recapture? I mean, obviously, we know it's the final stretch into the postseason. So, we're just trying to rack up great habits. Obviously, sometimes the game goes the way the game goes. And sometimes, you play a great game, you still lose the game. Sometimes, you feel like you didn't play as well in winning, but it's about habits. We're just trying to build our habits right now, going into the final stretch of the season. Along those lines, it seems like it's a particular, I guess, fatigue right now, to see those habits and apply them. How big of an opportunity did you feel having them on the schedule? And what can you say now to kind of put you guys back into an action? No, I mean, we just wanna, no matter who we're playing, obviously, we've been pretty good, some of the better teams this year. And we haven't been as good as some of the teams that's below 500. But this is a great team to test out and see where you are. But ultimately, it's about our habits. We have to continue to push our habits. They know who they are. They know what they're gonna be in the postseason. We're still trying to figure it out. With our lineups, with us all getting acclimated to what Luka wants to do, AR, myself, and to make sure we're keen on everybody else on the team, and make sure we hold each other accountable. So we understand that coming down the stretch, we have to play some really good basketball, but we still work on our habits. It's a single game, and obviously, it'd be easy to say, just do that every game. But that can be who you guys are. But how much of the non-chewing stuff tonight were you happy with? The controllables. Yeah, I mean, we know that they're very good when it comes to, one, getting into the paint, attracting a lot. They do a great job of getting to the free throw line. They do a great job of getting offensive rebounds and second chance points. And those are some of the controllables that you control. Not putting your hand in the cookie jar, when a lot of those guys were driving. Shea, J-Dub, some of those other guys. You gotta just live with the contest, make or miss. And I think we did a great job of paying attention to detail in that. And then when they missed, they did get a couple offensive rebounds on the first half, but I thought in the second half, we shored that up. So we were very keen on what we needed to do. How are you personally gonna manage the back to back coming up? What's today? Today's Sunday. Hey, yo. Hey, we got asked. Can I get to it? I don't even know. You're gonna wait until, how you feel on Tuesday? I don't know, man. I'm about to go shoot mine in the game with Steve Nash. That's what's most important right now. We got that dub out the way. Now I'm gonna go shoot mine in the game with Steve Nash. So we'll get there when we get there. Last question. We were just gonna ask you about that. It'll be the last one. Go ahead, go ahead. No, go ahead. I'll give her extra credit. Oh, excellent. I'll give her extra credit. The type of ball pressure that OKC puts on the perimeter with all those guys that are out there, what are the ways you've learned over the years to handle that in kind of the best way? And can you at any point- You attack pressure with pressure. Yeah, and also nobody is faster than the ball. When it comes to ball movement and things of that nature, that combat is a lot of the ball pressure. You know, when the ball is moving, the ball is flying around. I thought we did a great job of being able to put the ball on the ground when the defense shifted, being able to find the extra guy on the perimeter, either for shots or driving kicks. So like I said, when that ball is popping, that's always a key to success. Last question. All right. JJ was just saying how this game and the Houston game have been the best performances for the team defense since even back from injury. And he said a few weeks ago that what they really miss from you on defense is your voice. I'm just wondering what you think you do for the team in guiding them? Yeah, yes. I mean, it's obviously my voice and being able to command and let guys know what's going on behind them and also just calling out the keys, you know, on the defensive end. I'm able to see a lot of the plays before the plays happen because of my knowledge of the game, my knowledge of my opponents, my knowledge of the team, what they want to do. So, you know, being able to just, you know, let guys know what's going on behind them and guys know what's coming before it happens so we can always keep our hand on the swivel. We can always know, be kind of one step, you know, one step ahead. And I understand that's my responsibility to anchor the defense. And I'm happy to do it. Thank you, JJ. Hey, Eric, you want to go next? You want to try to offset what I look up to? If I'm gonna turn around, pull up the studio, I'ma let you go.