LeBron James endured a difficult homecoming on Friday as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat his Philadelphia 76ers 119-95, ending the visitors' five-game winning run in the NBA.
According to The Sun Malaysia, it was James's first appearance in Cleveland since he chose to join Philadelphia as a free agent in June instead of returning for a third spell with his hometown club. The crowd met him with warm applause mixed with some boos during the introductions, and he was cheered again when he left the court late in the fourth quarter.
The 41-year-old, now in his 24th NBA season, scored eight points on three-of-12 shooting, adding seven rebounds, three assists and two steals but committing six turnovers. He later admitted to "too many turnovers on my behalf". Centre Joel Embiid failed to make any of his nine field-goal attempts and finished with six points, all from free throws.
Jaylen Brown, another off-season arrival in Philadelphia, top-scored for the Sixers with 20 points as they slipped to only their second loss of the campaign. Philadelphia trimmed the gap to three in the third quarter, but Cleveland held firm to end a two-game losing streak.
Donovan Mitchell led the hosts with 23 points, 10 of them in the opening quarter, and Evan Mobley contributed 22. Even without injured centre Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 56-42.
The games formed part of the NBA Cup group stage, which runs through November with results counting towards the regular-season standings. The quarter-finals are set for December 4-5, the semi-finals for December 8-9 and the final for December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics made 24 of 44 three-point attempts in a 119-80 win in Charlotte. Jayson Tatum returned from a rest day to score a game-high 34 points, with eight rebounds and nine assists, as Boston led by as many as 46.
The Oklahoma City Thunder won 128-97 in Memphis for a 13th straight regular-season victory over the Grizzlies, with Ajay Mitchell posting a career-high 35 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander adding 28. In Dallas, P.J. Washington scored 26 points and Cooper Flagg added 21 as the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 112-100.