LeBron James defended Long Island’s Danny Green of the Spurs on the perception he partied with the Heat in South Beach after Miami beat San Antonio late Thursday night for the NBA championship.
A picture that raced around the web Friday showed James giving Green a hug at the exclusive South Beach nightclub, LIV, at the Fountainbleau Hotel, where the Heat were celebrating in the wee hours.
Green and James were teammates in Cleveland during the 2009-10 season. Green told The Post they were good friends as Cavaliers. Dwyane Wade and James reportedly didn’t show up at the club until 3 a.m. Friday
James, who rarely tweets, wrote on his Twitter account yesterday:
“Danny Green did not party with us on Thursday night. He came to say congrats and I told him how proud of him I was for taking full advantage of the opportunity he was given and keep going. We dapped up, showed love and he left. #StopBelievingAllYouHear’’
Asked after Game 5 by The Post if he and James were talking during the series, Green said, “There’s no friendly chitchat during the [NBA] Finals.’’
Green had a breakout series by setting the NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers, with 27. The former D-Leaguer was in contention for the Finals MVP after the Spurs held a 3-2 lead, but he struggled in the final two games when Miami coach Erik Spoelstra changed his defense and stuck a man at all times at the 3-point line to smother him.
Green, who is from North Babylon and played high school at St. Mary’s in Manhasset, shot a combined 2-for-18 in the final two games — 1-for-12 in Game 7. His awful performance in Game 7 raised eyebrows and questions of whether he should be out that late at a club instead of licking his wounds.