MIAMI: The Miami Heat weren’t in a giving mood on Thursday as they spoiled the Christmas Day return of LeBron James to southern Florida.
James tallied a team high 30 points and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 101-91 to his former team in one of five NBA contests on the Christmas holiday.
It was James’s first game in South Beach since spurning the Heat to rejoin his hometown Cavaliers in the offseason.
“A lot of emotions come back and you know, I spent four years here with those guys,” he said. “We put in a lot of hard work and dedication just to do the best we could.”
James, who got a big pre-game ovation from the crowd of 19,800, won two NBA titles in four seasons with his former team, which has fallen to a sub .500 club since he left.
But Miami didn’t play like a struggling team.
They were a determined bunch, especially James’ former sidekick Dwyane Wade, who finished with a game-high 31 points. The Heat victory also comes just 48 hours after a disappointing 91-87 loss to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.
“It could have been easy for us to be down on ourselves after that loss but we weren’t,” said Wade, who hugged and chatted with James on the court after the final buzzer.
There were no hard feelings between James and the Heat fans either, as he received plenty of applause and just a smattering of boos during the pre-game introductions.
The Heat also played a video tribute to James during one of the timeouts.
“What me and my team-mates created while we were here is going to last forever,” said James, who led the Heat to four championship appearances. “You can never take that out of the (history) books.
“I gave everything and more to the city while I was here. I never disrespected the city, the franchise, or any of my teammates.”
But James said he had yet to speak with Heat president Pat Riley.
“If the opportunity presents itself I don’t mind, but I don’t know what his mindset is,” he added.
James promised reporters a “huge” press conference once he retires at which he would answer questions more freely.
Wade said he was pleased to see the cheers outnumber the boos for James.
“That is the way it should be. There is no reason to say anything negative about LeBron James,” said Wade, who scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, Forward Pau Gasol scored 23 points against his former team as the Chicago Bulls cruised to a 113-93 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Guard Jimmy Butler added 21 points for the Bulls (20-9), who extended their winning streak to five games.
Gasol also pulled down 13 rebounds against the Lakers, with whom he won two NBA championships and spent seven seasons before signing a three-year contract with Chicago last summer.
The Lakers (9-20) lost for the fourth time in five games and stumbled to 5-10 on the road. They played the second consecutive game without guard Kobe Bryant, who sat out because of soreness.
Bulls guard Derrick Rose scored 20 points with six assists in nearly 32 minutes.
Guard Russell Westbrook scored 34 points and dished out 11 assists to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the San Antonio Spurs 114-106.
Fans in San Antonio, and a national television audience, were denied a marquee matchup of small forwards when Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard sat due to injuries.
Thunder center Steven Adams had 16 points and 15 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, while forward Serge Ibaka scored 21 points.
Forward Matt Bonner led the Spurs (18-12) with 17 points.
Point guard John Wall totaled 24 points and 11 assists and the Washington Wizards rolled to a 102-91 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Wall posted his 17th double-double and made 10 of 17 shots from the field as Washington (20-8) avoided its first three-game losing streak.
Shooting guard Bradley Beal added 17 points as the Wizards shot 51 percent from the floor (44 of 86). Forwards Nene and Kris Humphries contributed 14 and 12, respectively.
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Knicks, who lost their sixth in a row.
Reserve guard Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers shook off a rough first half to defeat the Golden State Warriors 100-86 at Staples Center.
Point guard Chris Paul had 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists and forward Blake Griffin finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers (20-10), who ended a two-game losing streak.
DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 15 points, while point guard Stephen Curry finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. AGENCIES
