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IT’S COMING TOGETHER: JAMES

Cleveland’s LeBron James dunking against the New Orleans Pelicans in his tribute to their fans. Photo: AP

Cleveland’s LeBron James dunking against the New Orleans Pelicans in his tribute to their fans. Photo: AP

IT’S COMING TOGETHER: JAMES

LeBron James wanted so badly to give back to Cleveland fans after he played poorly in his emotion-laced home opener. They deserved something. On Monday night (yesterday morning, Singapore time), he delivered a belated gift.

James recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 27 of his 32 in the second-half and Cleveland’s “Big 3” dominated in a 118-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Kevin Love made six 3-pointers and added 22 points for the Cavs, who were back at Quicken Loans Arena for the first time since Oct 30 when Cleveland welcomed James home after four years in Miami. He failed to play up to the monumental event, going 5 of 15 and committing eight turnovers in a stunning loss to the New York Knicks.

James wouldn’t allow a repeat performance. The Cavs just returned from a four-game road trip, which had its share of drama as James challenged his young team-mates following a loss in Portland, after which James went on his Twitter account and told Cleveland fans: “I owe y’all one.” Not anymore.

But in their first game back, the Cavs’ trio of James, Irving and Love showed why they’ve been pegged as title favourites.

James and Irving dominated in the second half, combining for 49 points — 30 in the third quarter when the Cavs overcame a 9-point deficit. Love, too, was huge after halftime, making four 3-pointers.

After a slower start than many imagined, the Cavs — and James — are beginning to figure things out.

“I’m not there yet,” James said. “I have a couple more kinks I need to work out, but I feel I’m in the right place right now and I’ve made some progress.”

Irving, who added nine assists and had just one turnover in 40 minutes, added: “This is special. We played well as a group.”

Anthony Davis scored 27 with 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, who beat defending NBA champion San Antonio on Saturday night and gave the Cavaliers all they could handle. Ryan Anderson added 32 points — 23 in the first-half for New Orleans.

“In order for you to become one of the best you have to play the best and learn from them,” Davis said. “I love playing against LeBron and the Cavs. They’re a tough team. They have three players who can score the ball at will. We broke down defensively. They scored 118 points. We can’t allow teams to do that.” AP

OTHER RESULTS

Cleveland* 118 New Orleans 111, Indiana* 97 Utah 86, Atlanta 91 New York* 85, Chicago* 102 Detroit 91, San Antonio 89 LA Clippers* 85

STAT OF THE NIGHT

32, 12 and 10 — The number of points, rebounds and assists, respectively, by LeBron James in Cleveland’s 118-111 win over New Orleans.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“I owed them one, and many more as well. Tonight we took care of business.” — LeBron James, who vowed to repay Cleveland fans’ faith after a sluggish start that saw them lose three of their first four games.

TODAY’S GAMES

Orlando v Toronto, LA Lakers v Memphis, Oklahoma City v Milwaukee, Sacramento v Dallas, Charlotte v Portland, San Antonio v Golden State

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