Thursday night proved that even at 41 years old and near the end of a legendary career, LeBron James can still experience “firsts” both career and personal.
Hours after he was introduced for his first regular-season home game as a 76er, James and his teammates put the finishing touches on a 29-point comeback in a 114-106 victory over one of his former teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It marked both the largest comeback by the Sixers in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) and the largest comeback win of James’ career.
James hardly shied away from the spate of boos the home team heard late in the first half and heading into halftime.
“It was everything that I dreamed of and more,” James said of his night. “We got the boos. That was amazing, and we deserved it. And then we got the cheers and almost blew the roof off this thing tonight, in a good way. It was a hell of a night.”
The Sixers (2-0) lost 15 turnovers before halftime — three more than they committed in their season-opening win over the host New York Knicks on Tuesday — and allowed Cleveland to shoot 51% in the half. Some fans turned from elated to frustrated as the Sixers entered the locker room down 69-45.
But James had an assist and an and-one to aid the 76ers’ 11-0 spurt to open the second half. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Tyrese Maxey powered the rally with 32 points and a crucial defensive effort on James Harden.
Jaylen Brown, also making his home debut in a 76ers uniform, scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and 10 in the fourth quarter for a finishing flourish.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse — who dubbed it “kind of a wild way to win a game” — said he was pleased that the team hit minutes targets for James and Joel Embiid, who has undergone multiple knee procedures.
Indeed, James (33 minutes) was on the bench for the entirety of Philadelphia’s 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that finally flipped the scoreline. Embiid scored the first seven points of that stretch before tagging out for the remainder of the contest.
“I thought that the group when both LeBron and Joel went out, that group played awesome,” Nurse said. “They got stops and then (Brown) went to work possession after possession, maybe scored three in a row, and we were getting ready to sub and, you know, it’s like it’s not time to because (the group on the floor had) gotten like three consecutive stops and three consecutive scores. You gotta kind of let them play their next two possessions to see what happens.”
Wearing a red shoe on his left foot and a blue shoe on his right, James was the pregame focus. The 76ers took the opportunity to put city legends at center stage: Boyz II Men performed the national anthem, boxer Bernard Hopkins rang a replica Liberty Bell in the team’s pregame custom, and franchise icon Allen Iverson was seated courtside.
So was James’ daughter Zhuri, who spent the latter part of her 12th birthday attending the game.
“They put her name and told her happy birthday on the Jumbotron and sat (her) courtside. That was super cool, man,” James said. “Mom was here as well, so super special for me to be able to have moments like this in this building, in this city, probably one of the best sports cities in the world. Along with a couple other cities, but Philly is damn sure right up at the top. So, I’m happy to be here.”