Tobias Harris, LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) drives past Orlando Magic's Tobias Harris, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 26, 2014, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) ORG XMIT: DOA107

(John Raoux)

ATLANTA, Georgia -- The term "chill mode" wasn't received favorably when LeBron James used it as a way to describe his demeanor during a 98-89 win over the Orlando Magic last week.

On Tuesday, James explained to Northeast Ohio Media Group what he meant.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with me not giving my all," James told NEOMG. "I just took it to another level."

James wasn't having his best start that evening. He looked sluggish, fatigued and out of sorts. His counterpart, Tobias Harris, was the exact opposite as he scored 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field in two and a half quarters.

A verbal altercation between the two occurred midway in the third quarter. It stemmed from Harris swinging his elbows in the vicinity of James' face to create space, and the All-Star took exception.

They had to be separated. Harris was seen yelling, "Stop flopping," as he walked away.

James flipped on the switch and destroyed Harris in the final 17 minutes. He went 5-of-7 the rest of the way and inserted 15 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth. Post alteration for Harris, well, didn't turn out so well. He only scored one more point to conclude with 17.

James acknowledged after the game that Harris' trash-talking ignited a spark.

"It wasn't the shoulder or the elbow, it was the words that he said that got me going," James said after the game. "I was actually in chill mode tonight, but chill mode was deactivated after that."

The social media world was up in arms with James saying he was in "chill mode." Most took it as the four-time MVP admitting he wasn't giving his all and that simply wasn't the case.

James said it was taken out of context, that he didn't mean he wasn't playing his hardest, but that he was feeling his way into the game.

"It was the second game of a back-to-back and I was just feeling the game out like I always do," James said to NEOMG. "Kevin [Love] had it going, so there was no need to force anything.

"I just went off [offensively] after that [altercation]. It had nothing to do with me not playing hard. I'm always leaving it out on the floor. I approach each game differently and adjust accordingly throughout the game. That's what happened."

Superstar players know how to pick their spots. They can sense when it's time to improvise. Did that near-elbow connection wake him up? Possibly, but he said in no way was he not putting out maximum effort.

The greatest can take it to another level if provoked and on that night, Harris witnessed that James has those same capabilities.