Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, right, drives against Sacramento Kings’ Darren Collison during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, in Cleveland. The Kings won 116-112 in overtime. AP
LOS ANGELES, United States — LeBron James notched his second straight triple-double but it wasn’t enough to stave off an upset as the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers fell 116-112 in overtime to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
After Aaron Afflalo’s three-pointer with 30.8 seconds left in overtime put Sacramento up 115-112, James missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining and Kings star DeMarcus Cousins capped the scoring with a free-throw with five seconds to play.
It wasn’t the response James wanted to see when he called out teammates in the wake of their loss to New Orleans on Monday.
READ: NBA: Frustrated LeBron bemoans Cavs organization
He notched his second triple-double in as many games with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, but the champions lost for the sixth time in their last eight games.
After the defeat by the Pelicans, James called the Cavaliers “top-heavy” intimating he, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love didn’t have a strong enough supporting cast.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that the team would handle their superstar’s outburst internally.
“We talked to him and he understands, he understood and now we’re going to move on,” Lue said.
General manager David Griffin was especially stung by James’s suggestion that the team wasn’t committed to retaining the title but said he had a “good conversation” with James.
“The comment about the organization being complacent I think is really misguided,” Griffin said. “Organizationally there is absolutely no lack of clarity on what our goal set is. We are here to win championships and there is no other solution, there is no other outcome that is acceptable and there never has been.”
But James won’t be soothed by Wednesday’s on-court performance.
Love scored 21 points and pulled down 16 rebounds and Irving added 20 points, but the Cavaliers made just 17 of 34 free-throw attempts and they turned the ball over 18 times.
Cousins led all-scorers with 28 points with 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals for the Kings. Afflalo scored 14 and Darren Collison added 23.
A layup by Collison with 35 seconds left in overtime put the Kings ahead 112-111 but Love split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 112-112.
Afflalo responded with what proved to be the game-winning three-pointer.
In a game in which each team led by as many as 10 points, Kyle Korver’s three-pointer with 7:43 remaining in regulation had put Cleveland up 97-87.
But Sacramento scored 11 straight points. Cleveland still had a chance to win it in regulation, but James’s attempt to inbounds the ball to Love was thwarted by Cousins — who grabbed Love’s jersey but wasn’t whistled for a foul. CBB