Cavaliers' Richard Jefferson believes LeBron James was sick during Game 3

Cleveland Cavaliers veteran Richard Jefferson said on Fox Sports Ohio following Game 4 that he thinks LeBron James’ terrible performance in Game 3 — the four-time MVP had 11 points, six turnovers in the Cavs’ 111-108 loss to the Celtics — was likely due to sickness.

Jefferson noted that Cleveland point guard Deron Williams missed the squad’s latest shootaround, which led to a conclusion that a “bug” going around the team led to James’ lackluster performance.

"I know he won’t talk about it, so I’ll give my big guy a shout,” Jefferson said. “Deron Williams missed shootaround this morning because he had like a little bug, really lethargic, had no energy. And I think that’s what 'Bron had. And sometimes these little bugs can go around. And (James) was like, dude, when Deron didn’t show up to shootaround, it kind of started clicking in his head.

"Because for him it was like, 'I don’t know why I was so lethargic, why I had no energy, I had nothing.' And so, these little things happen. (There) was no panic. Look, he was lethargic, they hit a bunch of tough shots, if Marcus Smart doesn’t go 7 for 10 from three, then we’re not even talking about it."

After Game 3, in which James scored zero points in the fourth quarter, he made no excuses but got into a verbal altercation with a hometown fan and snapped at a reporter in the postgame news conference.

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James bounced back with 34 points in the Cavs’ Game 4 win, and Cleveland can close out the Eastern Conference finals in Game 5 on Thursday — to reach their third consecutive NBA Finals.

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