CLEVELAND, (Reuters) – It was not a warm homecoming but it was a spectacular one as LeBron James scored a season-high 38 points to lead the Miami Heat to a convincing 118-90 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Returning to Cleveland for the first time since moving to Miami to form a super team with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, James received the hostile reception he expected from jilted fans who booed him relentlessly from the moment he skipped onto the court until the final buzzer.
“We came here with one goal and that was to win a basketball game,” James said. “We did that. This was the most complete game that we had all year from start to finish.”
For seven seasons and 619 games, James had been lavished with love by Cleveland but on Thursday the Quicken Loans Arena shook with boos each time he touched the ball.
The heckling reached a crescendo just before the opening tipoff when James stepped over to the scorer’s table, poured powder onto his hands and tossed it into the air — repeating a ritual that had become his signature during his time in Cleveland.
While the Cavaliers say they have moved on, their fans have had a much tougher time letting go, having watched the local boy grow from a high school phenomenon into a two-time league most valuable player and a once-in-a-generation talent.
But the game provided some closure for a jilted city and a chance to vent their anger that had been building ever since James went on national television in July and said he was, “taking my talents to South Beach.”
The game was played under heightened security but could not stop a hostile crowd from sending James a clear message.
Sprinkled throughout the arena were hundreds of signs mocking James, while in one section eight fans stood up, each wearing a white t-shirt with one bold black letter spelling out, ‘BETRAYED’.
Cleveland sport and entertainment celebrities, including members of the NFL’s Browns and Major League Baseball’s Indians, rallied around the home side, donning Cavaliers wine and gold jerseys.
Also sitting courtside was Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who in the aftermath of James’s decision to leave the team blasted the six-time All-Star as a narcissist and deserter, saying Cleveland would win an NBA championship before “the self-titled former ‘king’ wins one.”
The game attracted massive interest with even U.S. President Barack Obama offering up a thought on James’s homecoming, saying: “It’s going to be brutal.”
If the angry welcome affected James it did not show in his play, particularly in the opening quarter when the jeering was its most ferocious.
James scored 10 points in the first quarter to help stake the Heat to a 31-23 advantage. Miami cruised to a 59-40 lead at the half that appeared to take some of the energy and venom out of the crowd.
James looked right at home in the third quarter as he scored 24 points to put contest out of reach and send dejected Cavs supporters trickling out of the arena.
Wade contributed 22 points to the Miami effort while Bosh chipped in with 15 as the surging Heat notched their third straight win.
