Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
Cleveland 134, L.A. Lakers 110
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #12 CJ Washington, # Sha'Rae Mitchell, #19 James Capers
Attendance: 19432

Homecoming for Lakers star LeBron James and son Bronny turned into a party for the host Cleveland Cavaliers.

The younger James scored his first NBA basket for Los Angeles, but Evan Mobley tallied 25 points and Donovan Mitchell added 24 points and seven assists as the Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 victory on Wednesday night.

It is Cleveland's best start since the 2016-17 season, when LeBron James was wearing No. 23 for the Cavs.

Cleveland led by as many as 28 points and overcame a major foul disparity, committing 26 fouls to Los Angeles' seven.

LeBron, 39, was cheered throughout pre-game warm-ups and during his traditional pregame powder toss along the scorer's table. He also thrilled the crowd with a breakaway dunk in the first minute. A tribute video for James and rookie guard Bronny was played during the first half.

With the outcome decided, LeBron went to the bench for good with 9:13 remaining. He finished with 26 points, six rebounds and six turnovers. The Cleveland crowd started chanting, "We Want Bronny" shortly thereafter.

Bronny entered with 5:16 left and the Cavaliers up 119-98. The 20-year-old assisted on Dalton Knecht's dunk before scoring his first NBA points on a step-back, 14-foot jumper over Tristan Thompson with 2:03 left. He missed a 3-point attempt with under a minute to play.

LeBron's dunk to make it 4-0 was the biggest highlight of the first quarter for the Lakers, who succumbed to a barrage of Cavaliers 3-pointers. Cleveland shot 17-of-22 from the floor in the first quarter and made 8 of 13 treys. Mitchell had 13 points in the first 5:05 as the hosts led 42-23 after one.

The Cavaliers kept up the pace in the second quarter, leading 57-36 after a dunk by Jarrett Allen with 4:38 left in the half and carrying a 67-48 edge into halftime. Allen finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Mobley had eight points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, including a wide-open slam to boost the Cavs' lead to 105-79. Mobley would score 17 in the fourth.

Lakers star Anthony Davis, who entered the game leading the NBA in scoring at 32.8 points a game, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Cleveland
LeBron James 26 Scoring Evan Mobley 25
D'Angelo Russell 5 Assists Darius Garland 10
Anthony Davis 13 Rebounds Jarrett Allen 17
LeBron James 7 Free Throws Made Jarrett Allen 2
Anthony Davis 2 Steals Donovan Mitchell 3
N/A Blocks Jarrett Allen 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 110 49.4 6-28 28-33 21 37 0 6 21
Cleveland 134 57.7 17-41 5-8 37 36 2 14 12
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Orlando. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Lakers have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .500 after a loss.