LeBron James apologizes for posterizing former teammate Kevin Love: 'I hate it had to be him'

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By , Audacy Sports

LeBron James is continuing to defy father time and play at a high level in his 16th season in the NBA. LeBron had another...LeBron type of performance during Monday's victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but one viral moment the king posterizing former teammate and friend Kevin Love trended all over social media.

During the Lakers 131-120 victory over Cleveland, James finished with nearly 40 points and had a lot of memorable moments, including brutally posterizing Love in the second quarter, catching a pass from Austin Reaves for a one-handed dunk.

Love, who seemed to be a good sport about it, decided to put James in a five-second headlock in order to get some sort of retaliation for James' monster slam.

If you look at the video, Love tried to be a team player and draw the charge but after failing to move out the way of the 6'8 freak train that is LeBron James, the 14-year vet flew straight on his back and slide out of bounds.

“He choked the [s–t] out of me!!” James wrote on his Instagram story afterwards.

Love then went to Twitter in good fun to profess that he will not mess with his buddy LeBron for at least the next 48 hours. James responded to his tweet, hilariously asking for his forgiveness.

Following a triple-double in his return to Cleveland, James recalled the monster slam on his friend with Spectrum SportsNet, wishing that he had just moved.

“When I turned that corner and I looked up I was like, ‘No please Kev, just move," James said. "I hate it because he should know once when I get that go-go-gadget calf muscle and I get going then, I’m gonna take off.”

James told reporters afterward that he hopes he's still invited to the wedding. Love proposed to his model girlfriend Kate Brock back in January.

“Once I got the bounce pass and I put my left leg down into the ground, that’s when I looked up,” James said. “To be completely honest, I hate that it had to be him. He’s my guy, that’s my brother. And hope I’m still invited to the wedding."

The two even met pregame to recreate their handshake that they did during their time together in Cleveland. Love and James were of course a part of the 2016 Cavs team that beat the 73-9 Golden State Warriors squad in the NBA Finals.

Love contributed eight points six rebounds and four assists in the Cavs’ loss. James recorded a triple-double with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and currently leads the league in scoring.

The Lakers sit 10th spot in the Western Conference just three weeks away from the start of the play-in tournament, which begins on April 12th.

Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342

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Featured Image Photo Credit: USA Today Sports