LeBron James ‘jumped’ into cameraman, Andrew Bogut says

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James suffered a cut to his head as he fell into a group of photographers along the baseline under the hoop during the second quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Only “fell” isn’t the word Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut would use to describe the what happened.

“I think he jumped into the cameraman,” Bogut said after the game, according to USA Today. “Yeah, I think he came down and took two steps and then fell into the cameraman. I definitely, definitely didn’t hit him that hard.”

James was driving to the basket when he was fouled by Bogut. The hit by the Golden State big man wasn’t overt enough to prompt the referees to call Bogut for a flagrant foul 1 or 2, but as the 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward came down, the top half of his body bent over and he tumbled into a cameraman, causing the injury.

“If you look at the replay, you can see the two steps being taken and then him falling into the camera,” Bogut continued. “That’s what we saw on the replay, and that’s what my teammates saw.”

James has been fined for flopping before during the playoffs and that’s clearly what Bogut was inferring with his postgame statements, but it’s not exactly shocking to see a player exercise their dramatic acting skills to get a call.

After a few tense moments for Cavaliers fans at Quicken Loans Arena, James was back on his feet and shooting free-throws. He finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ loss to the Warriors, 103-82.

It’s also worth noting that Bogut’s comments after the game might have come out of his own frustration. Bogut was benched to start Game 4 by Coach Steve Kerr, who opted to go with a smaller lineup against the Cavaliers.

Bogut’s final stat line: Zero points, one rebound, one assist and three fouls in three minutes.

The Warriors and Cavaliers are tied at two games apiece in the best-of-seven series, which returns to Oakland on Sunday for Game 5.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme