Cavaliers Spoil LeBron James' Homecoming With Dominant Victory

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 on the NBA season after a convincing win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oct 30, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket between Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) and guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Every time LeBron James comes to town, Cleveland Cavaliers fans will show him the respect, appreciation, and recognition he deserves. However, once the game starts, it's back to business for both sides.

LeBron played for 11 seasons with the Cavs and brought the franchise its first championship in 2016. However, he's consistently dominated the Wine and Gold when on the opposing side. James had a record of 9-2 when playing against Cleveland heading into Wednesday night, but that winning percentage shrunk as the Cavaliers absolutely dismantled the Los Angeles Lakers with a 134-110 win.

The box score doesn't do justice to show how dominant of a win this was for the Cavs from the tip. They outscored Los Angeles by a staggering 19 points in the first quarter, and that lead continued to climb, reaching 28 points before the game ended.

The Cavs outplayed Los Angeles in a number of areas throughout the game, but the place where Cleveland absolutely overpowered the Lakers was scoring in the paint. As a team, the Wine and Gold outscored the Lakers 68-56 down the low. It wasn't just on the offensive side either, as the Cavs also finished with two blocks and 14 steals as a team.

This all started with Cleveland's frontcourt of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. JA finished the game with 20 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks. Mobley, on the other hand, scored 25 points and five rebounds.

Even though the Lakers weren't on the winning side, LeBron put up a vintage performance that Cavs fans have grown accustomed to seeing. He finished with 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists while shooting 69 percent (9-for-13) from the floor in just 28 minutes.

Oct 30, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) goes for a rebound against Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Cleveland now improves to 5-0 on the season, but as Donovan Mitchell said after the game, the team can't get comfortable. The Cavs are off on Thursday but have a back-to-back against the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks, who were playoff teams a year ago.

Nothing will get easier for the Cavaliers, but they're already proving they're one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.