Love airs out frustrations on court in Cavs’ loss
Cavaliers star Kevin Love showed his frustration several times during Saturday’s 121-106 loss to Oklahoma City but posted on Instagram afterward…
CLEVELAND — Cavaliers star Kevin Love showed his frustration several times on the court during Saturday night’s 121-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but afterward he denied having any problems with his teammates.
Love, who has been the subject of trade speculation all season, became annoyed late in the second quarter, when Collin Sexton didn’t throw him the ball as he was getting position in the lane. The veteran forward threw his arms in the air and slowly walked toward Sexton at the top of the key.
After receiving the ball, Love threw a low pass to Cedi Osman, who bobbled the ball before shooting a 3-pointer.
“We were making a playcall,” Love said. “We were in the bonus, and Chris Paul was on me, so I felt swing it to me and try to throw it in the post, see if they double-team and get a good shot out of that. That’s not what we did, and yeah, I was frustrated.”
In an Instagram post following Saturday’s game, Love shared a photo of himself with his arm around Sexton and wrote, in part, “I love my teammates.”
Cavaliers coach John Beilein took blame for the playcall as the clock was winding down but said he doesn’t want his players to show frustration on the court.
“If I do it, if anyone does it, it really doesn’t make you a better player or a better coach at that time,” Beilein said. “It’s like carrying a suitcase around with you, that you have extra baggage. We don’t need to do that. … So as it’s pointed out to me or I see it, we try to address it the best we can.”
According to a report by The Athletic, Love yelled at Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman earlier Saturday about a recent fine. Citing anonymous sources, The Athletic said the incident took place following the team’s shootaround, and Love was screaming in front of teammates, coaches and front-office staff.
The report in The Athletic said Love, 31, was fined $1,000 for his outburst on the bench during Tuesday’s game in Toronto, in which he pounded a chair in frustration as he came off the court during a timeout.
Love’s name has come up in trade talks as the rebuilding Cavaliers (10-25) are looking to the future. He’s in the second season of a four-year, $120 million contract extension.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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