Cleveland, Ohio - The Cavs crashed the James’ homecoming party after beating the Lakers 134- 110
The Cavs not only welcomed back the homecoming king, LeBron James, but LeBron’s first son, Bronny James, made his first appearance in Cleveland as the rookie traveled with the Lakers on their road trip.
After an early first-quarter timeout, the Cavs showed a video tribute of LeBron, which included a moment with LeBron and Bronny James after the Cavaliers’ championship victory in 2016. The camera then focused on both Bronny and LeBron on the bench, and the crowd cheered after seeing the father-son duo sitting together on the bench.
The first quarter started with the Lakers winning the tip. On the 2nd possession, the Lakers caused a Cavalier turnover, allowing LeBron James to throw down a thunderous dunk, and the crowd erupted in appreciation. The rest of the quarter belonged to Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs.
After the Lakers took a 15-14 lead, the Cavaliers went on a 28 -8 run to end the quarter. Mitchell scored 15 of his __ points in the first quarter, and the Cavs were on fire from the floor, shooting 77% from the floor and 61% from 3-point land. The Cavs had 7 players score in the opening period.
In the second quarter, the Cavs defense held the Lakers in check, only allowing 48 first-half points as the home team pushed their lead to 19 before halftime. While the Cavs' shooting cooled off, they didn’t allow the Lakers to get rolling, holding the Lakers to 42% from the floor. The Lakers also didn’t make a 3-pointer the entire second quarter.
The Cavs, after being on fire to start, missed all 8 3-pointers they attempted, lost the rebounding edge 12-7, and allowed 2 offensive rebounds. Overall, the Cavs' defense was very solid, as they caused the Lakers to turn the ball over 10 times to just their 5 in the first half.
The second half started just like most of the second quarter; Darius Garland hit a corner three after the Cavs caused another Laker turnover to push their lead to 22. The Cavs' defense didn’t let up on the intensity from the first half. They caused 6 more Laker turnovers and allowed zero-made 3’s in the third quarter.
During the 4th quarter, with the Cavs up 21, the crowd began loud chants of ‘We Want Bronny!’ Eventually, Laker Coach JJ Reddick obliged. As Bronny approached the scorers' table, the crowd roared in excitement.
When the Lakers went on offense, anytime Bronny touched the ball, the crowd cheered him as if he had on a Cavalier uniform. After Bronny made his first basket of the game on a corner 3, the fans erupted!
Bronny finished the game playing 5 minutes, scoring 3 points with 2 assists and 1 steal.
Coach Atkinson stated pregame that LeBron and Bronny being able to play together is a beautiful story.
“Having two kids of my own. I can't even imagine…I enjoy playing in the backyard with my son, right? To do it on an NBA court. Beautiful story. I love it. I think we should celebrate it. I can't wait. I hope they're on the court tonight. I think that'd be really cool.”
The Cavs crush the Lakers 134 to 110. Jarrett Allen posted another double-double with 20 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. Donovan Mitchell finished with 22 points and 7 assists as he did most of his damage in the first half.
Coach Atkinson applauded Allen’s offensive improvement and loves how he’s dominating on both sides of the court.
“I have a lot of history with Jarrett. He’s dominating on both ends. He’s got that pivot game now, where he'll catch, even if he's stuck close to the basket, he'll pivot, pivot, and go dunk it, and obviously the rim protection. You see, we're switching a lot more with him this year, Cade Cunningham, LeBron, we're switching him on everybody, and he's just locking down.”
Donovan Mitchell, after the game, spoke about the moment surrounding LeBron coming back and how he was able to bask in the moment while not losing sight of the bigger picture.
"Those moments you hear about it, you talk about it. I mean, it's history. What he did was historic. I was a fan of it, and I was watching it. So you have that fire, but also, who wouldn't want to compete in that environment? Understanding how historic these moments are, and obviously being a part of that, and being the new face here, you want to be able to have that feeling. I want to have that parade outside the arena. You want to be the next one, but I feel like the ultimate respect to a guy like that is to continue to push and gut and go at it because I know for sure he's walking in and trying to do the same thing. So there's a moment that's special. It's great. I'm glad to be a part of it.”
With the win, the Cavs improved to 5-0 in the season and will host the Orlando Magic on November 1, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
The Cavs host the Orlando Magic on November 1, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.