It’s been over two years since then LeBron James I played a match in Cleveland, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Los Angeles Lakers star sure made up for lost time on Monday, and probably gave his best performance against his former team.

James scored 46 points, the highest of the season in the Lakers‘ 115-108 win over the Cavaliers, extending his Los Angeles road-wins streak to 10-0 to kick-off the season, a record of excellence, and he did so in style in his original state. Ohio.

„Cooking at home,“ he said afterwards in a video conference with reporters. „I felt good about my return to my sanctuary, my haven of comfort, and this is home.“

For most of the trip, feelings were warm and mysterious for the 18-year-old veteran. He spent some time with his mother and uncle. Receive a former colleague Sir Othman With a big hug during warm-ups, and wrapping health and safety protocols in league to show some love. Long-running Cavs employee Mark „Cobra“ shouted Cashman, calling him „the world’s greatest gadget.“

But with the fourth quarter approaching the game lagging behind the Cavs 89-87 after he missed a shot from the bell that would have restricted matters, James found a reason to abandon the nice guy routine and bury his former team.

After his tail 14 more Taurus James bounced back on the rim and walked out, and James noticed Jason Hillman, captain of the Cavs basketball team, sitting in a group at baseline with the rest of the front office of the Cavs team and applauding to celebrate the stray shot, sources told ESPN.

James then said, declining to name Hillman when asked who caught his attention: „I felt like he was a little excited to see me miss.“ „He was really excited that I missed this shot. A little more than I would have liked. But he clearly has to support his team. And he was, and he showed it.

„So I knew I had another quarter, and the last quarter was my favorite.“

And what a fourth quarter it was. James single-handedly outperformed his opponent – the team that once helped him achieve the only championship in 2016, keep in mind – 21-19 in fourth place to lead the Lakers past the brave Cavs, who beat the Brooklyn Nets twice at home only last week.

After the massacre ended, with James moving 9 to 10 from the field, hitting 3 of the Cleveland crest „C“ in the central court and another couple of daggers from the outside with the addition of two passes, two steals and two blocks, all his former team could do was acknowledge James’s greatness.

„It doesn’t take much to propel Braun forward,“ a Cavs source told ESPN about James‘ short exchange with Hillman, as the MVP four times fired an icy look at Hillman’s direction before making its way into the Lakers seat. „It was unreal tonight.“

Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff added, „You’re raising your hat to him. There’s a reason he’s himself and he’s done all the things he’s accomplished. If he’s shoving like this, you patted him.“

These were the most points James had ever scored against Cleveland as he set his career record 15-1 in matches he played against the team he suited to for more than 11 seasons. He was as accurate as before by one measure – 73.1% of the pitch tied for 19-to-26 shots for his best-ever shot of 240 career matches in which he attempted at least 25 shots (regular season and playoffs combined). The only other time it went 19 to 26? The sixth game from the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals in Boston, which many refer to as the most important victory of his career.

James, aged 36 and 26, has become the oldest player in the Lakers team with a 40-point match since Kobe Bryant scored 60 goals at the age of 37, 234 days in the last game of his career.

James said, „I just haven’t set a ceiling on my potential.“ “I’ve always wanted to keep getting better and better to the point where I can now dictate [what] Defense can do. The defense cannot dictate what I’m supposed to do. „

James finished 7-11 from 3, raising his mark of shots to 41.2% from outside this season, which would be the best percentage of his career if he continued to do so.

„The hitting industry was just ridiculous and it was one of those nights for him in the ages,“ said Lakers coach Frank Vogel.