INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue doesn't know if Draymond Green's hit on LeBron James during the Golden State Warriors' 126-91 thumping on Monday was "dirty."

However, Lue believes Green was looking to put the Cavaliers on notice.

"Was it a statement? I think so," Lue said when asked about the play following Wednesday's practice. "He didn't want to let LeBron get in the open court and get a dunk or layup and he took a hard foul. He wanted to try to send a message to our team."

Lue said shortly after the game that he "didn't really see" the play and needed to look at it on film.

The collision happened with about seven minutes remaining in the first half, as James raced out in transition, crossed half court and got decked by Green, causing James to crash to the court.

Ruled a flagrant foul 1 after a lengthy review, the hard foul also led to another skirmish between Green and members of the Cavaliers, which is a common occurrence when the two teams meet. Green and Richard Jefferson were both issued technical fouls after exchanging words.

"It's easier to do when you're up 25," Lue said. "When you're down and you're complaining about every call when you're down -- when we played earlier this season -- it's different. Both teams are the same. We get off to fast starts and we're running, having fun, high-fiving and they did the same thing the other night so both teams are the same. When we're playing well it's hard to put us out. When they're playing well it's hard to put them out also. It's easier to do when you're up 25 than when you're down."

In the locker room after the game, the Warriors downplayed the collision, with head coach Steve Kerr saying it "looked like a normal foul." James shrugged it off on the court and then again after the game, believing his football background helped.

While the Green-James play will likely come up again, adding more fuel if the Cavs and Warriors meet in the NBA Finals, Cleveland had to move past it.

"Tough game. Obviously it didn't go the way we wanted it to," Kyle Korver said after being a part of the rivalry for the first time. "But no one around here is panicking. Obviously we have a lot to get better at, but no one seems overly worried so I'm not going to be either. Just kind of follow their example and their lead, keep on trying to assimilate and get better.

That's the same message coming from Lue, even after offensive issues plagued them for a majority of the road trip.

"When we left our mindset was to go 4-2," Lue said. "You know, we went 3-3. And, you know, the last game wasn't our best game, but it is what it is. We were one game down from where we wanted to be going into this trip, so, not a big deal. We can make that up."