A quiet night for LeBron in Ohio
LeBron James came home overnight and barely made a dent. The 41-year-old finished with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, missed all four of his three-point tries and gave the ball away six times in 31 minutes as Cleveland beat Philadelphia 119-95 in an NBA Cup group game.
It is only the 10th time in 1,630 regular-season games that James has been held below 10 points. He did not hide from it afterwards. He said the offense never found a rhythm and pointed at his own turnovers first.
The Akron native heard a few boos each time he touched the ball in the first half. There was no tribute video this time either. Last season the Cavaliers showed footage of his 25 straight points against Detroit in the 2007 playoffs, and he teared up. This year the arena stayed cold, and James shrugged it off. Nothing, he said, will ever top the reception he got in December 2010.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
What the loss means for Philadelphia
James has now lost his last three visits to Cleveland and sits at 9-5 there as a visiting player. This one was his second-worst defeat in that building. He chose Philadelphia over a third stint with the Cavaliers in the offseason, and the Cavs, who spent 11 of his seasons as his home, made him pay for it.
The Sixers came in with the best record in the NBA and left at 8-2. Coach Nick Nurse called his team lacklustre and said Cleveland were very, very good, then moved on quickly. Philadelphia plays at the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. The Sixers are back in Cleveland on March 1.
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