The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in a thrilling Game 1 of their second round series, 113-112. LeBron James finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, and two blocks on the night, but received a lot of help from his supporting cast when he needed it most. It was a game where the Cavs didn’t have their first lead until the overtime session on a Kyle Korver three-pointer.
After the stunning victory, tempers flared near the Cavs’ bench when inactive center Kendrick Perkins got into a heated exchange with Raptors fan and Toronto native Drake.
Drake and Kendrick Perkins exchanged more words postgame pic.twitter.com/Z0rdXDe1uL
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2018
No one knew exactly what the incident was about, but the two had to be separated as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Perkins was having a little friendly trash talk with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Serge Ibaka, telling him that his Cavs were going to come back and win the game. Apparently, that’s when Drake intervened and started trash talking back. That carried over into the second half and eventually, postgame.
“What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge (Ibaka) walking into halftime telling him ‘We about to win this game,’ and Drake butted in talking shit to me. So I said something back to him.”
In a text message to ESPN, Kendrick Perkins says: “What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge (Ibaka) walking into halftime telling him ‘We about to win this game,’ and Drake butted in talking shit to me. So I said something back to him.” https://t.co/sJ3Ntx6zVy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 2, 2018
Kendrick Perkins on the Drake confrontation: “I was f—ing with Serge (Ibaka), my old teammate” Perkins said after the game. “I wasn’t talking to (Drake). He said something slick so I said something back: ‘Sit your ass down and watch the game.’”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 2, 2018
The Cavs got the last laugh tonight, and will look to win Game 2 on Thursday night.