D'Antoni Upset With Reporter After Loss by LA Lakers to Cleveland Cavaliers (VIDEO)
Mike D'Antoni was upset with a reporter after a loss by his Los Angeles Lakers to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
The game was D'Antoni's 12th in charge of the Lakers, but it did not end well as his side plummeted to a 100-94 defeat to the Cavaliers. The loss plunged his overall record in charge of the Lakers to 4-8, and the tension and the disappointment was clear and apparent in the aftermath of yet another loss.
The stress of the loss showed itself as he gave a post-game interview, and his anger was sparked by a cheeky question by one reporter.
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The reporter asked D'Antoni whether his team practiced defense before the night's game, at an apparent dig at the poor level of defending shown at times by the Lakers.
D'Antoni first attempted to answer straight, saying, " Hell, yeah, we worked for a half-hour on it."
However, the abrasive question then appeared to knock the coach, and he quickly changed his tone to attack the reporter: "You're starting to **** me off. You're starting to **** me off because you're saying something that's not factually correct."
The reporter was apparently highlighting what his understanding of the Lakers' pregame activities were.
The interviewer in question was T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times, who has been known not to shy away from asking what's on his mind to his interviewees. Simers also recently asked UCLA football coach whether he intentionally lost a game.
After the confrontation, the TV cameras quickly pulled back from the interview and went back to the studio pundits, who quickly moved the conversation on.
Tuesday night's loss for the Lakers was their third straight loss, having lost 117-110 to the Jazz on Sunday, and 114-108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The loss also caps off a torrid period for the Lakers who have now only won once in their last six games; a 103-87 win against the Hornets on Dec. 5.
