Blame the malfunctioning air conditioning at the San Antonio Spurs' arena for LeBron James' late-game cramps but don't blame Gatorade unless you want to get burned on Twitter.
With James missing key moments in the fourth quarter as the Heat lost the opening game of the 2014 NBA Finals 110-95 at a sweltering AT&T Center on Thursday night, the sports drink purveyor was feeling some heat on Twitter. The official @Gatorade account cooly fired back at those seeking to blame its product for failing the 4-time NBA MVP in such a big moment.
@ryanbkoo The person cramping wasn't our client. Our athletes can take the heat.
� Gatorade (@Gatorade) June 6, 2014
In response to a similar tweet, Gatorade took a swipe at James and a rival sports drink.
@LazyBumDrew we were waiting on the sidelines, but he prefers to drink something else.
� Gatorade (@Gatorade) June 6, 2014
That "something else" would presumably be Powerade.
Gatorade apologized for the tweets in a press release issued on Friday.
"Our apologies for our response to fans' tweets during (Thursday) night's Heat vs. Spurs game," Gatorade said, via the Associated Press. "We got caught up in the heat of the battle. As a longtime partner of the Miami Heat, we support the entire team."