Marcus Morris Credits Celtics 'Team Effort' in Holding LeBron James to 15 Points

Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris deflected praise after his team successfully stifled Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James en route to a 108-83 victory Sunday at TD Garden in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA playoffs.

James finished 5-of-16 for 15 points and turned the ball over seven times. Morris said after the game it was a "team effort" that led to James' poor performance and that "everybody played their part in guarding him."

NBA TV shared Morris' comments:

"I'm a competitor," Morris said, per ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg. "He's the best player, you know? I'm going to be able to tell my kids [about defending James] one day. It's exciting. I love the challenge, but like I said, man, it's a team effort."

Entering the game, some wondered whether Morris and the Celtics as a whole were guilty of provoking James.

In a since-deleted tweet, the Celtics' official Twitter account wrote, "History suggests that [Morris] could help us slow [James] down." Morris then told reporters he was the second-best person equipped to handle James behind San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, per ESPN's Chris Forsberg:

While some—Cavs fans in particular—had fun joking about Morris' assessment, it's a little harder to write off his remarks now. In addition to his contributions on defense, Morris posted 21 points and 10 rebounds and was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc Sunday.

The response from James and the Cavaliers as a whole in Game 2 on Tuesday will go a long way toward showing whether Morris and the Celtics have found a way to neutralize one of the NBA's best players.