LeBron on strange walk-off substitution: 'I blew a gasket'

LeBron James had enough.

After Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Jared Cunningham turned an easy post-entry pass into a turnover, James headed straight to the bench Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks.

The officials, however, didn't clear the switch so they called James back and issued him a technical foul.

The Cavs went on to win 109-97 and James addressed the outburst postgame.

"I blew a gasket. You know what that mean? I apologized to my teammates for it," he said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

Cleveland was ahead 72-46 at the time, making the incident even more unusual. Asked why he was so upset, James countered, "That's not the point."

Cavaliers head coach David Blatt had a simple explanation: James thought he was playing a different sport.

"Well, he was frustrated," Blatt said. "He knew we weren't playing right. And (he) thought we were playing hockey. A hockey sub. You know, Bron is a lot of things - a lot of great things - but probably where you're not going to see him is out there playing for the (AHL's Lake Erie) Monsters or the (New York) Rangers. You know what I mean?

"But he was frustrated. I understand his frustration, but obviously, you shouldn't do that."