CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs didn’t care that it was homecoming night.

Fueled by a ruthless first quarter, Cleveland overwhelmed the Los Angeles Lakers 134-110 on Wednesday, spoiling LeBron James’ only regular-season return.

It’s the Cavs’ fifth straight win to open the season, the team’s best start since 2016-17. They are the only remaining undefeated team in the Eastern Conference.

At the start of the game, LeBron, who has been suffering from the weather for about a week, talked about how special Wednesday night would be. Not only was he back in the building that had been his home for 11 brilliant seasons, always one of the most anticipated games on the schedule. But this time, his eldest son – and Lakers teammate – Bronny would be with him. Not even as a spectator.

To mark the once-in-a-lifetime occasion, the Cavs welcomed back both players during the first stoppage of play on Wednesday – a minute-long tribute that included a tribute video featuring various clips from LeBron’s time in Cleveland, including some moments he shared with LeBron a younger Bronny spent during the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship celebration.

For most of the evening, the buzz surrounding the game took a backseat to Cleveland’s near-endless dominance.

With an aggressive Donvan Mitchell leading the offensive attack, Cleveland hit 10 of its first 12 shots and quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Cavs had scored 42 points, going 17 of 22 from the field and 8 of 13 from 3-point range. They never gave up and at times extended the lead to a game-high 28.

The only question that remains is: Would Bronny get the chance to play on the field he often visited as a child?

After all, he had only played three minutes up to that point – all in the team’s season opener on October 22nd, more of a ceremonial appearance so Bronny and dad could become the first father-son duo ever to play together in the NBA.

At about 8:30 a.m. of the fourth quarter, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse echoed with chants of “We want Bronny.” A few minutes later, the 20-year-old youngster, who was born about 40 minutes away, jumped off the Lakers’ bench and calmly strolled toward the scorer’s table. He received a hero’s welcome when he came off the bench for the first time, and then there was another round of applause at the 2:03 mark when Bronny buried a mid-range jumper for his first NBA basket.

It was one of the few highlights related to the Lakers.

The surgical Cavs were led by fourth-year forward Evan Mobley. Despite struggling with foul trouble throughout, he scored 25 points on 12 of 16 efficient field throws. Mitchell finished the game with 24 points, including 15 in the crucial first quarter. Jarrett Allen recorded another double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Cleveland shot 57.7% from the field and 41.5% from distance.

LeBron led all scorers in a losing effort, scoring 26 points with six rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. Anthony Davis added 22 points and 13 boards. The other Los Angeles rookie Dalton Knecht scored 18 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

In 2018, when LeBron went to Los Angeles, Cavs-Lakers was a one-sided showdown. Cleveland was just 3-8 against James over that stretch.

But Wednesday night was different. For various reasons. The proud Cavs, now 5-0, didn’t want to let LeBron go another Celebration at their expense – even if Wednesday was still an unforgettable evening for the James family.

Next

The Cavs will welcome the Orlando Magic to town on Friday night for a first-round rematch. The meeting point is scheduled for 7 p.m