By Ryan Auger
Staff Writer

Lebron James

Thursday, December 2nd, Lebron James one of the best players in the NBA returned to Cleveland, his home for the first 7 years of his career, to face off against his now rival Cavaliers.

In his return, Lebron and the Heat easily defeated the Cavs 118-90, winning by 28 points.

In Cleveland, James earned Rookie of the Year and back to back league MVP’s. James had many comparisons to many top players in NBA history, although he won no championships with the team, making it to the finals once where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.

Over the summer James left the Cavaliers through free agency, which broke the hearts of the Cleveland fans.

James hosted on ESPN, The Decision where he told the entire nation watching for the first time that he would be joining the Miami Heat with All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. This decision was one of the most notable free agent signings in NBA history.

The hype and anticipation started when the NBA schedule first came out, as this was possibly one of the biggest games of the year for the Heat. Although the team had high expectations with their new stars, it has been a disappointing start to the season, going 1-7 against teams with a record of .500 or better and crushing the sub .500 teams going 11-1 against them.

Lebron talked about the game in Cleveland, earlier in the week and said “it’s gonna be a little sad and very emotional draining.”

Cavaliers guard, Mo Williams who played with Lebron in Cleveland said, “It’s like your ex-girlfriend coming to you wedding…”, as he tried to explain the situation to reporters Thursday morning.

Coming into the game various websites and twitters were encouraging fans to show their hatred for James by creating certain chants.

The crowd was so loud TNT who covered the game had to adjust the audio to limit the crowd noise, which was booming with boo’s for James as his name was called. Then right before the game started the traditional powder toss received one of the loudest boo’s from the crowd in the night.

Signs throughout the arena read “Quitness” referring to the James Wittness poster that hung on the side of the Quicken Loans Arena during his time with the Cavs. There were signs hinting at Traitor Not Talent with T.N.T in massive letters along with many more creative slogans.

One major precaution made by the Arena was that alcoholic drinks were served in paper cups and not the usual bottles to prevent fans from throwing the bottles onto the court.

In the beginning, the game was close and the crowd was very into the game, cheering at every basket the Cavs made and attempting to discourage James every time he got the ball.

At the half, James had 14 points, and the Heat had a sufficient lead of 19 points, up 59 – 40.

During the third quarter, the Heat took over and Lebron was the old Lebron, scoring 24 of his 38 points in the third, where the Heat increased their lead and sealed the game away.

The fourth quarter was all about Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as James sat the entire quarter. James Jones off the Heat bench scored 18 in the game, a majority of which was 4 three point field goals. Wade also contributed a near triple double at 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Miami went on to easily win 118 to 90, beating the Cavs by a large deficit of 28 points.

The security was definitely stepped up for the night, and it was definitely needed, as many people were ejected from the building, including one man who ran on the court during the second quarter while Miami shot a pair of free throws.Lebron finished the game with 38 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists. The 38 points for James was a season high and he did it in only 30 minutes of playing time.

Lebron in post game said, “I wanted to be aggressive in the third, and every night will be a hostile environment, just as today, just not as emotional for me.”

In response to the Cleveland fans, James said, “We had a great seven years here, and I tried my best to bring a championship, but I don’t regret my decision and shouldn’t have to apologize for it or leaving Cleveland.”