LeBron James has hilarious response to Austin Reaves' 'too small' taunt on Patrick Beverley

Kyle Irving

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LeBron James has hilarious response to Austin Reaves' 'too small' taunt on Patrick Beverley image

What goes around, comes around.

LeBron James made his return from a foot injury on Sunday, but the Lakers couldn't take advantage of the moment. In the heat of a Western Conference playoff race, Los Angeles was routed by the Bulls and a familiar foe made sure to rub it in his former team's face.

Patrick Beverley scored a floater — yes, a floater — over James and hit him with the signature "too small" taunt. The gesture caught fire on social media because of how out-of-place the celebration was given the play.

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Luckily for the Lakers, they got a chance for revenge on Wednesday with another matchup against Chicago.

Beverley was still up to his usual antics, hitting James with a Dikembe Mutombo "finger wag" ... after knocking one of LeBron's passes out of bounds.

Later in the game, with the Lakers comfortably in the lead against the Bulls, Austin Reaves gave Beverley a taste of his own medicine. Reaves hit a running floater over Beverley, then hit him with the "too small" taunt just as Beverley did to James a few days back.

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The Lakers got the last laugh this time, defeating the Bulls 121-110.

After the game, James had a hilarious response when he was asked about Reaves' payback on Beverley.

"AR always got my back. Even though he loved Kobe (Bryant) back in the day more than me ... I forgive him," James said as he burst out laughing.

James was referencing one of Reaves' old posts that went viral recently, throwing shade at his now-teammate.

Reaves appears to be back on James' good side after having his back in the Beverley nonsense. With the win, the Lakers are back to .500 (38-38) and sit just 1.5 games back from the Warriors for a top-six seed in the West.

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.