The day began with a surprise trip to see his greatest accomplishment.
LeBron James needn’t visit his four MVP trophies, three championship rings or two Olympic gold medals. But it did take a road trip to Northeast Ohio for him to be able to squeeze in a morning at the I Promise School in Akron.
Forty miles away and later that day, LeBron’s reunion tour continued in the city where he was drafted and played 11 NBA seasons. When a tribute video ran in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 109-105 victory, fans in Cleveland gave a standing ovation to the star who broke the city’s 52-year championship drought.
“I was already blessed and thankful for that moment right there,” James said. “To come here tonight and hear the fans’ reception … I just tried to be the best basketball player, best role model, the best leader I could be both on and off the floor for this franchise.”
It was a completely different atmosphere from James’ first Cleveland game as a visitor back in 2010. The vitriol birthed by his stint in Miami was washed away by his deliverance of the 2016 championship.
“From the time we landed yesterday, I just felt a different way,” James said. “I’m a different person than eight years ago. We’re all different from eight years ago, good and bad.”
Of course, there was also a game to be played, and the Cavaliers seemed to feed off the emotions of the night. Owners of the NBA’s worst record, the Cavs (2-14) nonetheless led the Lakers (10-7) by eight with only five minutes remaining.
But Cleveland’s prodigal son took over from there.
The Lakers ripped off 12 unanswered points — all of which were scored or assisted by LeBron, who hung up 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.
James did most of his damage inside the paint, but his most brilliant moment played on Cleveland expecting another attack at the rim. Instead, with just under three minutes remaining, he jab-stepped to get the defender on his heels before pulling up for a game-tying 3-pointer.
The Lakers soon took a three-point lead on a trio of James free throws, but Cleveland knotted it back up with 1:27 left on a triple by Cedi Osman (21 points, five 3-pointers).
From there, LeBron put his trust — and the game — in the hands of two players who stepped up for the Lakers.
He passed to Lonzo Ball, who drove down the baseline, attracting the defense’s attention before dishing to a cutting JaVale McGee for the left-handed layup.
McGee — who went 6-for-6 toward 12 points — then came up big on the defensive side with a swat on Osman to put the Lakers in control for the final minute.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 points, three 3-pointers) did his job in the final 15 seconds, hitting all four of his free throw attempts to ice the Lakers’ eighth win in 10 games.
That the final result was even in question was a shocker, but the Cavs were determined to spoil James’ return.
Cleveland dominated the possession battle, with a 15-3 advantage in turnovers and 15-7 in offensive rebounds. It attempted 102 shots from the field — 24 more than L.A.
But the Lakers’ offense was simply better, shooting 51.3 percent to the Cavaliers’ 38.2. They also had an enormous gap in points in the paint (56-32).
Part of the reason for the Lakers’ scoring success was the play of Ball — who finished the night with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Ball shot 7-of-11 from the field, often aggressively knifing to the hoop, both out of pick-and-rolls and in transition.
“That was one of my favorite part of our game: how much he was attacking the rim,” coach Luke Walton said. “Even the ones that he didn’t finish, I didn’t care. Just seeing him get downhill and be physical and playmake.”
Notes
James is now 13-1 against the Cavaliers in his career. … The Lakers were held to only 10 fast-break points. … Jordan Clarkson (20 points) and Tristan Thompson (14 points, 15 rebounds) had big games for Cleveland.