This night was supposed to be a homecoming for LeBron and Bronny James. This story quickly became a subplot of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ utter dominance. The 134-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers moves Cleveland to 5-0 on the young season. This was the fourth win by 10 or more points.

Donovan Mitchell quickly realized that this would be his night, not LeBron’s. He scored Cleveland’s first seven points and finished the first quarter with 15 points on 6-8 shooting and three assists.

Mitchell wasn’t alone. Darius Garland closed the quarter with a flurry that included a three-pointer in LeBron’s eyes after he attempted the switch at the end of the first quarter. The Cavs ended the first frame with a 19-point lead.

From then on, Cleveland never let go of the rope. Thanks to their central defense and their ability to assert themselves in transition situations, their lead did not decrease to double digits.

Jarrett Allen was phenomenal once again. He continues to be the biggest beneficiary of the Cavs’ new, spaced-out offense. Allen won his battle with Anthony Davis by completely shutting down the paint on a night when Evan Mobley was in foul trouble in the first half. Allen continues to validate the franchise’s decision to retain and extend him last summer. He finished the game with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

In his pre-game press conference, Kenny Atkinson mentioned that his team needed to take advantage of Los Angeles in the transition period. They turned steals into points and outscored the Lakers 31-12 on turnovers.

Cleveland didn’t let Los Angeles off the mat in the second half. Caris LeVert added 11 points in the third quarter, while Mobley finished things off with an aggressive fourth quarter in which he repeatedly attacked the paint. Mobley scored 17 of his 25 points in the final frame. Mitchell contributed 24 points and seven assists.

LeBron and Bronny still had their moment. The Cavs welcomed both of them home with this tribute video.

But the early deficit kept Bronny from getting into the game until hometown fans spent most of the fourth quarter chanting “We want Bronny.” They cheered every time he touched the ball, and there was one of the loudest cheers of the night when he scored his first NBA points on a mid-range jumper.

The win brings the Cavs to 4-19 in games against LeBron. This was their third home win and their second in the last three years. LeBron contributed 26 points, six rebounds and three assists in the loss.

Cleveland has had good regular season teams the last two seasons. It’s no coincidence that you win 99 regular season games in two years. But this team feels different. They play with a level of unity on both sides never achieved in the previous two iterations. One more suited to playoff basketball. We’ll see if they can keep this up for the next 77 games and into the postseason.

The Cavaliers may never disappear from LeBron’s shadow, and that’s not their own fault. The greatest basketball player of all time played his best seasons in his hometown and brought the city its first professional championship in 52 years. However, this core is quickly showing that this new era of Cavaliers basketball can be one of the best in franchise history. The fact that LeBron is performing on a court he has dominated for over two decades proves that.