LeBron James held to eight points as Philadelphia 76ers lose 119-95 on his return to Cleveland; the 41-year-old received smattering of boos from Cavaliers fans during first half; James spent 11 seasons over two stints with the Cavs
LeBron James was held to single-digit points for only the 10th time in 1,630 NBA regular-season games as his Philadelphia 76ers were beaten on his return to face his former team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James was held to eight points as the Cavaliers routed the 76ers 119-95 in an NBA Cup group stage game.
The 41-year-old, a native of Akron, Ohio, who elected to sign with Philadelphia in the offseason, instead of returning to Cleveland for a third stint, was 3 of 12 from the field, including 0 for 4 on three-pointers, while he committed six turnovers in 31 minutes.
"Definitely not feeling a good rhythm offensively," James said. "We didn't look like much offensively. We had a couple spurts, but too many turnovers on my behalf."
James received a smattering of boos from Cavaliers fans every time he touched the ball during the first half.
And this time there was no video tribute to the four-time NBA champion - who won one of those titles with Cleveland in 2016. When visiting the Cavaliers last season, they showed highlights of him scoring 25-straight points during Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons, which prompted him to tear up.
James spent 11 seasons over two stints with the Cavs. He left as a free agent in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, came back in 2014 and departed again in 2018 to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
"At the end of the day, nothing can get as worse as December 2, 2010, from a reception standpoint," James said. "I've seen them near the depths of hell when it comes to reception here all the way to the heavens above. So anything in between, it's easy money."
The 76ers' loss was James' second-worst in Cleveland as a visiting player. He is 9-5, but has been on the losing end in his last three trips. Philadelphia will return to Cleveland on March 1.
The Sixers came in with the NBA's best record but fell to 8-2. Head coach Nick Nurse was already looking ahead to Sunday's game at the Chicago Bulls.
"We were lacklustre and they were very, very good. And I think we expected them to be very good tonight considering that they had a couple tough losses in a row," Nurse said.
"We were not very good. Probably once in a while that's going to happen. Important thing is that we get over it and bounce back on Sunday."
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Source: Sports
