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LeBron James after loss to Washington Wizards: 'I still like the direction we're headed in'

Despite his team's defeat, James remains impressed with his new-look team.

CLEVELAND -- Moments after a controversial review gave the Washington Wizards possession of what had originally been ruled a jump ball, the Cleveland Cavaliers surrendered a layup to Otto Porter Jr. off an inbounds play, which seemed to serve as the dagger of what was ultimately a 110-103 Washington win.

Whether it be because of his frustration with his team's defense on the play or his disagreement with the prior call, LeBron James proceeded to spike the ball against the court of Quicken Loans Arena, before catching it on its way up to prevent a technical foul.

In the Cavs' locker room after the game, however, James' demeanor took on a different tone.

Suffering its first defeat since retooling its roster two weeks ago, Cleveland's four-game winning streak had just been snapped. Only the reigning NBA All-Star MVP remained upbeat when it came to the play of his new-look team.

“I think we played well tonight, even though we lost," James said. "I liked the start. I like the direction we're headed in."

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

In many ways, James' optimism was justified. After a nine-day layoff for the NBA All-Star break, the Cavs jumped out to an early double-digit lead, which they maintained for the better part of the first half.

Cleveland remained neck-and-neck with Washington heading into the fourth quarter -- but that's where things fell apart. James received little-to-no help in the final period, as he was the only Cavs player to score in the final 9:40 of action and was ultimately responsible for the team's final 14 points.

The biggest culprit of the Cavs' loss was the team's 3-point shooting, with Cleveland missing 27 of his 35 attempts from long-distance -- many of which were wide-open. Nevertheless, between the rejuvenated play of Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith and the additions of George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr., James remained impressed with the play of the new-look Cavs on Thursday.

"Tonight we still played to our game," James said. "Just didn't make a lot of shots."

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The subtext, of course, is that mere weeks ago, such positivity would have been tough to find following a Cavs loss. Between clashing styles on the court and personalities off of it, Cleveland lost 13 of 19 games between Christmas and Feb. 6 in a stretch that general manager Koby Altman eventually referred to as "marching a slow death."

All of that, however, seemed to change at the NBA trade deadline, with the additions of George, Clarkson, Hood and Nance Jr. -- and subtractions of Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade -- seemingly rejuvenating the Cavs' roster.

With so many pieces in place, there will be bumps along the way. But even in defeat, it was easy to see that the new-look Cavs are already a better version of their former selves.

"It's a learning experience," Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game. "We've gotta keep learning and keep getting better."

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