Cleveland Cavaliers

"Get Out" star Lil Rel Howery is a Boston Celtics fan ... but he says there's a silver lining to the team losing a couple games, and he's telling TMZ Sports his glass-half-empty theory.

If you're asking why Lil Rel is a Celtics fan in the first place, he says it's because he developed a kinship with Kyrie Irving while the two men were shooting Irving's upcoming "Uncle Drew" movie.

Rel says it's that friendship that makes it kinda okay ... hell, he almost even likes it ... that the C's seem to be struggling to beat LeBron with no go-to NBA superstar.

"I've been watching all these stories about how the team is better without Kyrie and all this dumb sh*t and I was like, ah, no, this is superstar time."

"So, I'm just saying like, Kyrie, that's his team, man. So, don't ever question that sh*t again. It's his f*cking team. He's a superstar. They need to win with him."

Shannon Sharpe wanted to rub Skip Bayless' nose in LeBron James' greatness Monday morning -- so, he put on the goat head, ditched his sleeves ... and even busted out a Black & Mild!

... and it was HILARIOUS (and weird).

Sharpe LOVES Bron -- Skip's a lifelong doubter -- so ... after James brought the Cavs back to life with a dominating 30-point win on Saturday, the ex-NFL star was hyped about it on FS1's 'Undisputed.'

LeBron James had a rough night ... but his wife was LIVING IT UP in Australia!!

Savannah James was spotted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday ... rockin' some pretty cool lookin' sweatpants.

Of course, Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Boston -- where the Celtics beat the Cavs to go up 2-0 on Tuesday.

LeBron was laser-focused on Game 2 -- and showed up to the TD Garden hours before the game to shoot and prepare. Ultimately, it didn't help ... Cavs lost 107 to 94.

Meantime, there were a bunch of huge stars at MBFW ... including Shaun White, Joe Jonas and Elsa Pataky.

LeBron James got Michael Rapaport to cut the trash talking and shut his mouth ... and even Rapaport says he's pretty damn impressed.

Look, Rap has said a lot of crap about Bron over the years -- he famously called him a "motherf*cker" for dissing his kids back in the day.

But now, Rapaport says LeBron is playing on such another level ... he's been rendered speechless.

"I've never seen anybody do what he's done this playoffs," Rapaport says ... "The biggest sh*t-talker, myself. I've got nothing to say. He's been unbelievable."

There is one guy who's still getting the wrath of Rap -- Drake -- who didn't show up to Game 4 of the Cavs vs. Raptors series to watch his team get swept out of the playoffs.

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are taking their rekindled relationship to the next level ... with a daytime movie date.

The 2 were at a cinema a few miles outside Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, and looking very much like a couple again. Khloe and Tristan grabbed snacks together before the movie and were seen leaving in the same car afterward. No word on which flick they caught.

We broke the story ... Khloe's family is the opposite of thrilled about her getting back together with Tristan, but they're backing off pressuring her to dump him for good.

Khloe Kardashian's family is not happy she's getting back with Tristan Thompson -- and that's a major understatement -- but they're not going to lobby her to kick his ass to the curb.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe was spotted with TT at a Cleveland restaurant Friday having lunch with friends and then showed up at the Cavaliers' game Saturday to support her baby daddy.

Our Kardashian sources say Khloe's family is outraged he humiliated and betrayed her right before she gave birth to their daughter. We're told they WISH she'd remain civil with him for the sake of their daughter, but move on. That said, they have enormous respect for Khloe and think she's capable of making decisions for herself.

We're told the family is somewhat surprised by the turn of events, because not long ago it looked like she was done with Tristan ... and the family was down with that decision. She was staying in Cleveland because Tristan was on the road and the baby wasn't able to fly.

And this is interesting ... we're told the family privately feels they may never forgive Tristan, but they're not going to attempt to torpedo the relationship.

Thanksgiving should be interesting.

The horse that won the Kentucky Derby can be one of the greatest of ALL TIME ... so says trainer Bob Baffert, who just compared Justify to LeBron James!

Yes, LEBRON JAMES!!!

Justify beat everyone's ass at Churchill Downs this weekend -- racking up another Derby victory for Baffert, who many consider the greatest racehorse trainer EVER!

So, when we saw the silver-haired horse god at LAX, we had to ask about his new superstar.

"Oh, he looks like LeBron," Baffert says ... "Big, powerful, athletic face. Very rare. VERY rare. He's a beast."

We asked if we could start putting Justify in the same conversation as American Pharoah -- who won the Triple Crown -- and Baffert told us it's not a crazy comparison.

"He's up there with him," Baffert said ... "outstanding horse."

The NBA has warned Drake about using bad language at NBA games after the rapper reportedly called Cleveland Cavs star Kendrick Perkins a "f***ing p*ssy."

Drake had gotten into it with Perkins on the floor of the Cavs vs. Toronto Raptors game at the Air Canada Centre ... with one reporter claiming Drake essentially challenged the guy to a fight.

Now, the NBA has issued an official warning to Drake about "the use of bad language" ... this according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

In fact, Woj says the NBA's exec V.P. of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe, spoke with Raptors president Masai Ujiri to help get the point across.

Drake's beef with NBA player Kendrick Perkins went from 0 to 100 real quick ... the two shouted at each other during the Raptors vs. Cavs game -- with Drake reportedly calling him a "f***ing p*ssy."

The two started exchanging words at halftime ... with things getting so heated one of the Cavs players was holding Drake back.

Things continued after the game when Drake shouted to Perkins that he's a "f***ing p*ssy" and challenged him to come out of the tunnel, according to the Toronto Star's Bruce Arthur.

FYI, Perkins is 6'10" and 270 lbs.

After the game, Perkins told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, "What happened was I was talking to my old teammate Serge [Ibaka] walking into halftime telling him 'We about to win this game,' and Drake butted in talking sh*t to me. So I said something back to him."

Drake's a Raptors superfan -- but he's also friends with a ton of NBA stars.

Toronto Raptors fans got straight-up PERSONAL when taunting Tristan Thompson during Tuesday night's playoff game ... with hundreds of people in the arena shouting, "KHLOE!!!"

Tristan and the Cavs were at Air Canada Centre for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals -- when Tristan stepped to the free throw line in a VERY close game.

The fans tried to do their part in messing with Tristan's head ... and began chanting the name of his baby mama whom he famously cheated on with multiple women.

But somehow, Tristan was able to tune out the haters ... and hit ALL FOUR of his shots from the line. The Cavs ended up winning the game in overtime.

Tristan Thomson's temporarily out of the dog house, physically anyway, and he couldn't look happier.

Tristan was grinning from ear-to-ear as he boarded the Cleveland Cavaliers team plane Thursday, heading to Indiana for Game 3 of their playoff series with the Pacers.

He could be smiling 'cause he's a new dad, or because the Cavs tied the series 1-1 last night. Or maybe he's just happy to get outta Dodge after getting busted cheating.

Considering he hasn't been playing much, we'll go with door #3. As we've reported, his relationship with Khloe Kardashian is in ruins at the moment, and after her family left town there's no buffer between them.

LeBron James wants people to "get off [Allie LaForce's] back" -- saying she did NOT blindside him on air with a question about the death of Gregg Popovich's wife.

LaForce was catching hell on social media Wednesday night from people who thought it was WAY out of line to ask LeBron about Erin Popovich in the moments after the Cavs playoff game.

But, LeBron went to bat for the reporter -- making a video explaining the entire situation and essentially saying LaForce couldn't have been more professional or sensitive to the situation.

"A lot of people feel that I was blindsided. That is absolutely false."

"Allie LaForce told me that she was gonna ask the question and if it was OK. And once I started talking about it, once I was on air ... that was just my emotions coming straight from my heart."

"So get off her back, man -- she's very professional and she does a great job."

Forget the Pacers ... the Cavs are gonna smash on EVERY NBA TEAM standing in the way of their quest for another ring -- so says UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic.

We got Stipe -- a proud Cleveland native -- after the LeBrons got rocked in Game 1 of their series with Indiana ... and he told us everyone needs to chill the hell out.

"They're fine. It's one game. It happens," Miocic told TMZ Sports. "They'll start smashing people."

Stipe was so confident, he even Guaran-Sheed the Cavs would crush any Western squad that makes it to the Finals (so, the Warriors or Rockets).

"It's my Cavs, of course they're gonna win."

We also spoke to the champ about the 'Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated' reality show he coached on that premieres Wednesday on FS1 ... and he told us why the fighters this season are must-see TV.

Khloe and True are on their own now with Tristan Thompson, because her fam just hopped on a private jet out of Cleveland.

Kris Jenner and her daughters -- Kim, Kourtney and Kendall -- were wheels up and bound for L.A. Tuesday afternoon. Kris has stayed in Cleveland since last week when Khloe gave birth, but the sisters flew back into Ohio yesterday.

As we reported, Khloe and Tristan's relationship is in ruins right now, and her plan is to bounce out of Cleveland as soon as she and True are medically cleared to make the flight back to Cali.

Ric Flair has a message for all you Cavs fans fretting over that Game 1 beatdown the Pacers put on you ... CHILLLLLLL ... 'cause Nature Boy says LeBron James and the Cavs will win on Wednesday.

As long as LBJ goes for 40.

We got Ric -- a huge Cavs fan and the man LeBron credits with keeping him off the street as a kid -- out in NYC ... and asked if Cleveland is in trouble after the Pacers took it to them in Game 1.

"LeBron, you gotta do 40 tomorrow night, man."

James Comey says he modeled his management of the FBI after LeBron James -- and says he used the NBA superstar's never-ending desire to win to motivate the organization.

Yeah, he's being 100% serious.

Comey appeared on "Good Morning America" and said, "I admire LeBron James. I used to talk about him all over the FBI."

"He illustrates what the endless pursuit of excellence looks like."

Comey says he was incredibly impressed by how LeBron pushes himself every offseason -- finding parts of his game to make better.

During his run as FBI director, Comey says he would tell his staff to be more like LeBron ... "We have to find parts of our game to make better."

He also said (close your ears, Bulls fans) that LeBron is undoubtedly the best basketball player alive.