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Zydrunas Ilgauskas didn’t leave the bench on Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks, and LeBron James isn’t happy about it.

Ilgauskas was set to play his 724th game as a Cavalier against the Mavericks, which would have set the franchise-record for games played, but did not log any minutes. He currently shares the record with Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry.

Even though the Cavs won the game, James said he would have allowed his teammate to play and take his place in the team’s history.

“I’m not trying to stir up anything with coach or the organization,” said James on Monday. ”I don’t know who made the call. But sometimes one game is a smaller thing. What was on the line the day before yesterday was something way bigger than us playing the Mavericks, and that was Z breaking the record to become the franchise leader in games played.”

The decision to not play Ilgauskas wasn’t planned, said Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

“He was on the minute sheet to play his normal 20 to 25 minutes,” said Brown. ”The flow of the game happened where they went small and the teams that were out there just played well, so i stuck with it. Do I wish I would have played him? Yeah. It didn’t work out that way and I’ve got to move on.”

Although on-court matchups was the reason for not bringing Ilgauskas into the game, Brown said that doesn’t mean the 7-foot-3 center would have been unable to guard anyone that played.

“At times, I thought we were better going small and playing Shaq the limited minutes that we played him at the five,” said Brown. ”We played a lot of small ball in that game.”

James offered a solution to the predicament.

Ilgauskas could have started, then come out of the game after a timeout, allowing fans to give him a standing ovation.

“If you didn’t want to play him, there were a lot of ways for that accomplishment to be accomplished,” said James.

The Cavalier superstar made it clear he does not wish to “raise havoc or raise fire in the locker room.”

“But, for me, I speak the truth,” said James. ”I stand behind him, and I feel like Z not playing wasn’t the right thing.”

James and Ilgauskas have been teammates since the 24-year-old was selected by the Cavaliers with the first overall pick in 2003 and have developed quite a bond.

“I stand behind whatever Zydrunas Ilgauskas does because he’s more than just a teammate, he’s a friend of mine,” said James. “He’s a big part of why this franchise has turned around.”

Ilgauskas has been a member of the Cavaliers since he was drafted by the team with the 20th selection in the 1996 NBA Draft. He struggled with injuries to begin his career, resulting in five foot surgeries. Over the last seven years, however, Ilgauskas has played no less than 65 games in any season.

This season has been difficult for the two-time All-Star, though.

The arrival of Shaquille O’Neal in Cleveland this summer in a trade moved the 34-year-old to the bench. He is averaging a career-low 7.1  points, while shooting just 38 percent from the floor.

Still, Ilgauskas has remained the ultimate professional.

“He has made the sacrifice to move to the bench,” said James. ”I think this instance is something totally different. Z has been great. Nothing at all has been said to us as a team that he is unhappy coming off the bench.”

The next chance for Ilgauskas to break the record is when the Cavaliers play the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.