The Knicks didn’t play the Cavaliers on Saturday, but another chapter was added to the Enes Kanter-LeBron James public feud.
After Cleveland was blown out 148-124 by the Thunder — Kanter’s former team — the big man took to social media to highlight the embarrassing defeat.
“148,” he tweeted, adding a crown emoji and James’ popular hashtag #StriveForGreatness.
Oklahoma City’s 148 points were tied for the most the Cavs have surrendered in a single regulation game in franchise history, and Cleveland has now lost five of their last six. Making matters worse for James, who scored just 18 points, was the fact he coudn’t reach the 30,000-point mark.
The Kanter-James clash began back in November when the King suggested the Knicks should have selected Mavericks rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. – not Frank Ntilikina – in the 2017 draft. When Ntilikina and James traded shoves in a matchup at the Garden, Kanter quickly interceded and got up close and personal with the four-time MVP before the two had to be separated.
“I don’t care who you are. What do you call yourself? King, Queen, Princess, whatever you are. We’re going to fight. Nobody out there is going to punk us,” Kanter said afterward.
And James fired back: “I’m the King, my wife is the Queen and my daughter’s the Princess so we got all three covered.”
James had the last laugh that evening, as Cleveland stormed from behind to steal a victory behind his 23 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. In an Instagram the next day, he proclaimed himself the “King of NY.”
Two weeks later, when James was tossed for the first time in his 15-year career, Kanter posted an image with a circle around the referee who issued the ejection – Ken Fitzgerald – and captioned it “King of Cleveland.”
The Knicks will finish their season with back-to-back games against Cleveland on April 9 and April 11.