CLEVELAND — The atmosphere in Rocket Arena on Friday night wasn’t the “depths of hell” as LeBron James said he experienced when he first returned to this arena wearing a new uniform 16 years ago — but James’ play was something out of a hellish nightmare.
James had one of the worst games of his career in Friday night’s 119-96 NBA Cup game loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, finishing with eight points on 3-for-12 shooting and seven turnovers.
The porous night ended James’ 22-year streak of 10-point games in Cleveland; the last time he scored fewer than 10 points was Dec. 29, 2004, a day before his 20th birthday.
It was James’ first time back in Cleveland since leaving his hometown team at the altar alone again this offseason, as he chose to join the Sixers over Cleveland, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat in free agency. “That first day or two, you’re just like, you’re depressed, quite honestly,” Cavaliers Coach Kenny Atkinson said of losing out on James.
James received a welcome fitting for a King returning home, as most fans in the arena stood to cheer, giving James louder roars than all of the Cleveland Cavaliers starters.
And yet, James seemed indifferent to the welcoming response. After all, he had returned to Cleveland with two other teams — the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers — but that feeling ultimately comes from a fraught night James can never forget.
“At the end of the day, nothing can get worse than December 2, 2010 from a reception standpoint,” James said. “So, I’ve seen the depths of hell when it comes to reception here, all the way to the heavens above. So, anything in between is easy money.”
On that December night 16 years ago, James returned to Cleveland after choosing to go to the Heat by way of the infamous “Decision.” The 25-year-old James was mercilessly booed by a fanbase that had burned many of his jerseys, and on that night seemed that they would never reconcile with the superstar that broke their hearts through a national television special.​
To add to that heartbreak, James took the taunts and ridicule in stride, beating up on his old team for a season-high 38 points and leading the Miami Heat to a 118-90 rout. Sixteen years later, James, now with prickly grays poking from his famous face and a championship win in Cleveland in 2016, James gave the performance the crowd in 2010 would have feasted on.
James struggled to blow by Cavaliers’ defenders, his shots clanked off the rims, and he turned the ball over routinely. For the first time this season, he looked every bit of the 41-year-old that he is.
“I know I damn sure wasn’t good at all,” James said.
James wasn’t the only Sixer on the struggle bus Friday night. The only other MVP on the team, Joel Embiid, also happened to choose Friday night to have one of the worst games of his career. Embiid finished 0-for-9, with six points. Embiid has only one worse shooting performance in his career, going 0-11 from the field at the Raptors six years ago.
Together, they became the third different former MVP duo in NBA history to each score in single digits and shoot 25% or worse from the field in the same game.
“Yeah, I definitely did not feel in a good rhythm offensively,” James said. “We didn’t look like much offensively. … Too many turnovers on my behalf, and I didn’t feel in a rhythm.”
The Sixers (8-2) will play Bulls in Chicago on Sunday.
“Tonight was not our shot, not our greatest of shots,” James said. “But listen, if you would have told me our team, through 10 games, first 10 games of the season, would be 8-2, I’d take it.”
