Cavaliers' LeBron James dunks despite face slap from Warriors' Kevin Durant

June 13 (UPI) -- LeBron James threw down the dunk of the 2017 NBA Finals Monday night in the Cleveland Cavaliers' loss to the Golden State Warriors.

In the second quarter of the contest, James ran down the court on a fast break against Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

He took a short pass from Deron Williams down the right flank and elevated with both hands on the basketball. Durant flailed up with his left arm, but it was not strong enough to stop "King James" from flushing it down. James completed the slam and stared at the referee, complaining about Durant's slap to his face.

The dunk put the Cavaliers on top 41-33 for its largest lead of the night.

That wasn't the only time James got the best of Durant on a dunk during the NBA Finals. He also did so last week in Game 4. James drove down the court and threw an alley-oop pass to himself off of the backboard for that scintillating slam.

James & Co. went on to lose the contest 129-120. The four-time MVP scored a game-high 41 points and became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the NBA Finals.

Before the final game of the series, debate raged about whether Durant or James was the best player on the court. James seems to have answered that question with his triple-double performance and duo of poster-worthy finishes.

In five games, James posted absurd averages of 33.6 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists per game. Durant walked away with the NBA Finals MVP award by averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 boards and 5.4 assists per game.

After the contest, James showed that he could turn off his competitive spirit and respect Durant's greatness. He was the first player to embrace the first-time NBA champion after the final buzzer.