AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - After the Detroit Pistons fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday evening, plunging to a 0-3 series hole, Andre Drummond stood waiting in the corridors near the Cavaliers' locker room.

Cleveland's Big 3 was assigned to speak at the podium together after combining for 66 points while earning the 101-91 Game 3 victory. Drummond was posted in the very pathway that leads to the press conference area.

Kyrie Irving emerged from the locker room and Drummond got his attention and they shared a hug along with a few words. Kevin Love surfaced and Drummond greeted him with a handshake and a very brief chat.

Then LeBron James finally departed from the locker room. James saw Drummond up ahead. Drummond saw James approaching. Drummond tried to make eye contact as if he had something to say, but James just walked past as if the 6-11, 280 pound All-Star center wasn't even there.

And Drummond knew exactly why.

He had gotten away with an elbow to the side of James' neck in the first half of Game 3 while the four-time MVP wasn't looking. It was a dangerous, senseless play that sent James crashing to the ground and the officials completely missed it.

To James' credit, he bounced back up and resumed playing. Whether Drummond's elbow was intentional or not is up to the league to decide, but it was a play that could have caused some serious damage.

"The only way I wasn't getting back up was if my head came off and even then, I might still get up and play without one," James told cleveland.com. "That's just the way I was brought up to play the game. You see I'm good now."

James said he didn't need to be checked out following the elbow.

"It wasn't necessary," he said. "I've been hit way worse before."

Drummond was likely stationed so conveniently by the opponent's locker room to presumably get a temperature gauge on James. If the moment presented itself, he would have likely issued an apology.

But James wasn't in the mood for fraternizing with the opposition. He treated Drummond the way the Cavaliers have been treating the Pistons this series: like they're not there.

The constant bickering, complaining and cheap shots from the young squad have been virtually ignored by the Cavaliers. While one team has continually yapped, the other one has racked up all the victories and is one win from sending Motor City fans back to baseball season.

Trash talking has clashed with actually playing the game, with the results speaking for themselves. James essentially left Drummond hanging -- as the Pistons' season is this morning -- by a thread.

That thread will probably be snipped on Sunday. Drummond was apparently hoping to sweep the incident with James under the rug. Instead, there likely will only be only one sweep. Drummond will have plenty of time to chill in the corridors after that.

"I think our team and our front office and the people that handle that will cover the Drummond [elbow]," James said at the podium. "For me, my focus is now on Sunday."