CLEVELAND - LeBron James got the kind of welcome that can make a building feel alive before the opening tip. Once the game started, though, the Cavaliers made sure the night belonged to them.
James, now 41, had one of those games that never lets him settle in. He finished with eight points, hit just 3 of 12 shots and coughed it up six times in a lopsided NBA Cup loss. He couldn’t shake defenders, couldn’t find any offensive flow and kept running into dead ends.
“I know I damn sure wasn’t good at all,” James told reporters.
That was the blunt truth of it. Cleveland kept him under pressure, and James never found a clean answer. For a player who has spent years pushing back against time, Friday was a reminder that the clock can still win a night.
“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.”
Joel Embiid had his own rough outing and couldn’t help steady things. He missed all nine of his field-goal attempts and ended with six points. Together, the Sixers’ two former MVPs managed just 14 points on 3-of-21 shooting.
The crowd’s reaction, at least, wasn’t the part James worried about.
“At the end of the day, nothing can get worse than Dec. 2, 2010, from a reception standpoint,” James said, recalling his first visit with the Heat. “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.”
Even with the ugly performance, James wasn’t ready to let one bad night define the Sixers’ early season.
“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.”
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Cavaliers Just Got A Frustrating Knicks Reminder They Couldn't Ignore
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New Yorks edge was felt in the places Cleveland usually wants to control, with extra possessions and loose balls turning into a steady problem the Cavs never solved. James Harden had a rough night offensively, going 2-for-9 and finishing at minus-23, which only added to the reminder that this matchup can get away from Cleveland quickly when the other team wins the hustle battle and forces the Cavs to chase instead of dictate. [Read more 🡒]