Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson Forgot Play Call in Overtime vs. Spurs

LeBron James is one of the best players in NBA history, so it seemed strange when he passed to nobody late in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 118-115 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

The turnover occurred with Cleveland trailing 116-113 with 24.2 seconds left in overtime.

"James did exactly what he was supposed to on the play, which was drawn up by coach Tyronn Lue out of a timeout," Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com noted Sunday. "Neither Tristan Thompson nor Kyrie Irving followed the plan, and James suggested they forgot the play."

"As a ballclub that's trying to win a championship, we can't have you go from a timeout to the court and forget what you're supposed to do," James said, per Vardon. "It's that simple."

Vardon noted the Cavaliers attempted a "hammer" action that, if executed properly, would have Thompson set a backscreen for Irving. Irving would then sprint to the corner, which is exactly where James threw it.

According to Vardon, Cleveland ran the play to perfection in a November contest against the Orlando Magic. Mike Dunleavy—and not Irving—caught James' pass and drilled the three-pointer.

Danny Green was guarding Irving during Saturday's play, and Thompson never screened the Spurs' wingman.

"We watched it on tape, Kyrie would've been open," Lue said, per Vardon. "Danny Green had no clue what was going on, but we didn't execute it right."

Irving called the sequence "a miscue," per Vardon.

Cleveland committed 18 turnovers during the contest and lost a lead in the fourth quarter, so the play was part of a larger theme of sloppiness against one of the league's best teams. James isn't safe from the blame with seven turnovers, but this particular one wasn't his fault.

He made up for it with 29 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals behind 11-of-16 shooting from the field. Irving had 29 points and nine assists, while Thompson notched a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Still, they were no match for Kawhi Leonard, who fueled the Spurs—who played without Tony Parker—with 41 points, six rebounds and five assists.

While this was just one contest in the middle of an 82-game schedule, the 34-9 Spurs and 30-12 Cavaliers have the second- and third-best records in the NBA, respectively. San Antonio is one of the few teams Cleveland is consistently judged against, and the two sides could realistically meet up in the NBA Finals if the Spurs make it past the Golden State Warriors.

James lost to the Spurs in the 2014 Finals as a member of the Miami Heat and likely understands beating a Gregg Popovich-coached team in a best-of-seven series will take more discipline than the Cavaliers demonstrated on Saturday.