LeBron James after silencing Bulls' trash-talk with a 40-point playoff game: "They asked me to shoot... I did that"

That night, the opposing Chicago Bulls’ bench tried to needle the Cleveland Cavaliers star with constant trash talk.

“They were talking the whole game,” James said afterward, adding that whenever he caught the ball near their sideline, poised to shoot, the chirping intensified.

Ultimately, the tactic backfired. Instead of shrinking from the taunts, James turned them into fuel. By night’s end, he had silenced the noise, standing as the man of the hour with a game-high 40 points.

Winning above all else

Stopping a superstar in his prime can take every tool a team can muster. The Bulls‘ young, vocal roster, led by Joakim Noah, tried to do just that, hoping to get inside James’ head. A player celebrated more for his iconic all-around game than for a deadly outside shot, the plan was clear: test James, provoke him, and try to disrupt his rhythm.

“They were daring me to shoot every time I caught the ball over there,” James recalled after the game. “Telling me, ‘You can’t make jump shots, so take it.'”

Ultimately, the mistake wasn’t that the Bulls trash-talked, but what they said. Each taunt sharpening his focus, James showed that he could, indeed, shoot efficiently. While not every superstar can rise above distractions and perform when it matters most, LeBron, when dared to shoot, answered, sinking jumper after jumper.

“They (The Bulls) asked me to shoot a jumper,” James later told reporters, “and I did that, over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I continued to make them.”

Mental toughness

Every basket James made during his 41 minutes on the court showed he wasn’t just racking up stats, but putting on a masterclass in payback.

Ultimately, the Cavaliers’ superstar went two of four from 3-point range and made all six of his free throws. Overall, James finished 16 of 23 from the field, including five of seven in the fourth quarter, leaving Chicago no chance of a comeback.

For LeBron, it didn’t even crack his top 25 playoff single-game scoring performances. For the Bulls, it was a harsh reminder that some players thrive on provocation.

Noah, usually quick with words, could only call James’ performance “unbelievable,” while Bulls teammate Derrick Rose admitted, “It was just crazy shots. Sometimes you want to be in his (James’) shoes with the stuff he’ll hit.”

Ultimately, no Bull could fill those shoes — not in the game and not in the series. James finished with staggering stats across five games, averaging nearly 32 points, over nine rebounds and eight assists as Cleveland beat Chicago 4–1.

Interestingly, during that opening series in 2010, James shot nearly 57 percent from the field and just over 54 percent from 3-point range — far above his regular-season numbers of around 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. Normally, those stats dip once the more competitive postseason begins, but not for James. Not even letting the Bulls’ trash talk get to him, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer raised his shooting efficiency magnificently.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

LeBron James after silencing Bulls’ trash-talk with a 40-point playoff game: “They asked me to shoot… I did that”

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