CLEVELAND, Ohio - LeBron James hasn't made a 3-pointer in six games.

He's zero for his last 18. Five misses were in the Cavaliers' 104-103 loss at the buzzer to the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

"I could care less about what I shoot from the 3," James snapped. "It's not my game."

James was noticeably upset in the locker room long after the loss. He appeared at his locker after what seemed to be a 30-minute workout, still in his Cavs-issued spandex and dripping with sweat.

He said of the loss: "It hurts. It's been a while since I felt like this."

This one was oozing with sore spots for James. On a night he clanged five 3s off the rim, the Cavs were beaten on a 3-ball by Avery Bradley, who nailed a shot from the left corner.

The Celtics had the last shot because Evan Turner's missed free throw bounced off James and out of bounds with 4.1 seconds left. Turner was at the line because J.R. Smith was called for a questionable foul on Turner's layup.

Other things went wrong, too, like the Cavs holding a five-point lead with 18.6 seconds left and losing; giving up 39 points in the fourth quarter; and Kevin Love being lost for the game late in the third with a thigh bruise.

James scored 30 points on 9-of-23 shooting. He was 12-of-17 from the foul line and became the 19th player in league history to go over 6,000 free throws in his career.

But James' 3-point shooting is another matter altogether. He's shooting 26.4 percent from deep, by far the worst of his 13-year career. His last 3-point field goal was Jan. 25 against Minnesota, and dating back to Jan. 21 he's 2-of-28.

All of which makes his comments from after Friday's game - which, to be fair, were made at an obviously emotional moment - all the more curious.

"Like I tell you guys at the end of my career they're not going to say LeBron was a great 3-point shooter," he said. "I'm going to continue to take them. I work on them. If they go in, fine, if not I'll live in the paint. So I'm not a 3-point shooter, I never will be a 3-point shooter. If I shoot it well, cool, but that doesn't define my game, shooting 3s."

It's confusing. He's not a 3-point shooter and said he doesn't "care" what he shoots from long range, but he's going to keep taking 3s?

While it's true the 6-8, 250-pound James won't be remembered for his long-range shooting prowess, he is the Cavaliers' franchise leader with 939 3s. In other words, his disavowing of his 3-point skills, at least earlier in his career, was a bit of a stretch. He once shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range -- in 2012-13 with the Miami Heat.

Also, on a night where they clearly weren't going in, James still chose to take a really bad 3-pointer that could've cost the Cavs dearly.

James dribbled the ball without passing for the entire 24-second clock, until there were 24.9 seconds remaining and the Cavs led by just three points. He started to penetrate off a pick, but then reversed his dribble so he could return to the 3-point land, where he missed one that bounced high off the rim.

The possession was saved by Smith, who rebounded the shot and opened the door for Kyrie Irving to sink two free throws. But the possession was a prime example of the isolation ball the Cavs say they want to get away from, and James nevertheless used the play to take a wild 3 instead of getting something in the lane.

Now, for the irony.

With 6:48 left in the third quarter and the game tied at 81, James shot a 3-pointer that did go through the hoop. The streak was momentarily over, until referees decided that Timofey Mozgov was fouled before the shot.

Mozgov went to the foul line and missed both free throws.

Had James' shot, his 3-point shot, counted, the Cavs may very well have won Friday night.