CLEVELAND — LeBron James suffered a bloody gash on his head after colliding with a cameraman late in the second quarter Thursday in Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.
With 4:43 left in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 103-82 loss, the Cavaliers star drove to the basket and was fouled by Warriors center Andrew Bogut.
He placed a towel on the back of his head, behind his right ear. He later returned to shoot two free throws. The injury didn’t have an impact on his playing time, and he finished with 20 points on 7-for-22 shooting, 12 rebounds and eight assists in 41 minutes.
James said he had a headache.
“Of course I have a headache,” James said.
He also said “no stitches” when asked whether he would need them but did acknowledge that the wound was closed up by “glue.”
“If he stops bleeding, he doesn’t have to come out of the game,” Silver said. “It seemed to be a surface cut. He seemed to be fine. He hit a free throw and stayed in the game.”
A Cavaliers official said the league’s concussion protocol is initiated only if there is a change in a player’s mental status, and that in James’ case, there was no change.
In a brief interview with ESPN at halftime, Winik said he felt fine after the collision, that the collision wasn’t too bad in general and that he didn’t have to clean any blood off his camera.
Winik, smiling and in good spirits, declined to answer any further questions, saying he was in “game mode.”
How close cameramen are to the court has been an issue for player safety reasons.
A league spokesman said the league has reduced the number of cameramen over the past five years from as many as 10 or 11 per quadrant to almost half that now.
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