LeBron James, Enes Kanter Exchange Words After Frank Ntilikina Shoves Cavs Star

The beef between Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and New York Knicks center Enes Kanter spilled over into Monday night's game, as the two players exchanged words in the first quarter.

Kanter confronted James after LeBron got into a minor shoving match with Knicks rookie guard Frank Ntilikina.

The bad blood started when James told reporters the Knicks should've selected Dennis Smith Jr. instead of Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 draft.

Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis came to Ntilikina's defense.

"I don't know why [James] made those comments," Porzingis said, per the New York Post's Fred Kerber. "All I can say is we love Frank, we're happy with him. He's doing a great job, he's playing great and he's doing what he's supposed to."

Kanter echoed the sentiment on Twitter:

ESPN.com's Ian Begley shared comments from James, who said his initial comment about Smith was directed more toward former Knicks team president Phil Jackson. The four-time NBA MVP also took a shot at Kanter:

James-led teams haven't generally feuded much with the Knicks, in large part because New York has reached the playoffs four times since he entered the league in 2003-04. Aside from his individual matchup with Carmelo Anthony, there was little additional drama when James crossed paths with the Knicks.

After Monday night, that may no longer be the case.

The Cavs and Knicks meet twice more this season, with the next matchup April 9 in Madison Square Garden.