Cavaliers: Cavs ride big third quarter to 129-99 rout of Lakers to spoil LeBron James' homecoming

CLEVELAND – Emotions ran amok with the return of LeBron James and the high-flying Los Angeles Lakers. But it was the Cavaliers who took center stage with a 129-99 annihilation of the Lakers on Wednesday before a national-television audience at Rocket Arena. "You could feel (the emotions)," Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell said. "You just have to enjoy it. It could be history with his last game in Cleveland. Every time it's special." Cavs swingman Jaylon Tyson might have ruffled a few feathers with his comment afterward when he said it's now Donovan Mitchell's city. "There was no disrespect there," Tyson said. "(James is) the greatest of all time. If I offended anybody, I'm sorry. We want to do the same thing here (win a championship) with (Mitchell)." James, the oldest player in the NBA at 41 years old, wasn't a factor in the game whatsoever and finished with 11 points and five assists and shot just 3 of 10 from the field. "I'm in the battle with Father Time and I'm taking it personally," James said. "But I'm also not going to be one of those guys (who hangs on too long). "Just being present in the moment. I don't know if it's my last game here or not." When asked if he would consider coming back to Cleveland to play, James said he couldn't answer that right now. The Cavs (29-20) have now won five in a row, as well as 12 of their last 16 games since Dec. 29. They embark on a five-game West Coast trip Friday, starting in Phoenix. Mitchell finished with a team-high 25 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Tyson added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists and De'Andre Hunter 19 points. The Cavs blitzed the Lakers (28-18) in the third quarter, 42-22, to take a commanding 99-77 advantage heading into the final period. Cleveland's shooting has picked up exponentially in January, as they own the second-best field-goal percentage in the NBA (.492) and sixth-best 3-point accuracy (.379). That continued against the Lakers, as Cleveland shot a sizzling .526 from the field and .386 from the 3-point line. They have also outrebounded their opponent for the seventh consecutive game, 46-36, and outscored the Lakers 51-27 from behind the 3-point arc. With forward/center Evan Mobley sidelined for one to three weeks with a calf injury, Cavs center Jarrett Allen will be burdened to pick up his scoring and rebounding. He did his part on Wednesday with 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Lakers guard Luka Doncic, the league's leading scorer at 33.8 coming into Wednesday's game, ended with a game-high 29 points, five rebounds and six assists. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he's "blown away" by the development of Tyson. He credited Cleveland's front office for discovering the University of California talent. "The great thing about all of our young players is they have no fear," he said. "We imposed our will on them physically." Tyson hounded James and said he's never been afraid of the moment. "I look at it as an opportunity," he said. "Everyone knows who that is: The greatest ever. I don't fear anyone. I tried to make his job as tough as possible." He said part of his doggedness came from being cut as a ninth grader and having to go home and tell his mother he didn't make the team. "I never want to feel like that again," Tyson said. Mitchell said he loves how Cleveland's youngsters are playing. "They play with energy, effort and intensity," he said. "I love to play with guys like that. I want to go to war with guys like that." Forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin is another one of those young, impressive players. He had eight points, four rebounds, three assists and one block (on James). "He's young and green," Atkinson said. "We all feel confident he can guard without fouling. It makes me more confident putting him on big-time players. "He's everywhere. If he starts making a few threes, we'll have a hell of a player on our hands." Mitchell said the runaway win over the Lakers wasn't perfect, but it's "something to hang our hats on." "It shows what we have in the locker room and what we're capable of," he said. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X. Cavs 129, Lakers 99 L.A. LAKERS (99): L.James 3-10 5-6 11, LaRavia 2-8 2-2 6, Ayton 4-4 2-2 10, Doncic 12-20 2-6 29, Smart 1-4 0-0 2, Hachimura 0-7 0-0 0, Kleber 0-0 0-0 0, Knecht 2-3 0-0 5, Timme 3-5 0-0 6, Vanderbilt 2-7 0-0 4, Hayes 3-4 1-2 7, B.James 3-3 0-0 8, Vincent 4-6 0-0 11. Totals 39-81 12-18 99. CLEVELAND (129): Tyson 8-15 1-1 20, Wade 4-5 1-2 11, Allen 8-11 1-2 17, Merrill 1-4 1-2 4, Mitchell 9-21 4-4 25, Tomlin 4-6 0-0 8, Bryant 4-7 0-0 10, Nance Jr. 0-3 0-0 0, Hunter 7-15 2-2 19, Ball 0-0 0-0 0, Porter Jr. 3-5 0-0 7, Proctor 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 51-97 10-13 129. L.A. Lakers&emsp;28&emsp;27&emsp;22&emsp;22&emsp;—&emsp;99Cleveland&emsp;24&emsp;33&emsp;42&emsp;30&emsp;—&emsp;1293-Point Goals—L.A. Lakers 9-32 (Vincent 3-5, Doncic 3-8, B.James 2-2, Knecht 1-2, Smart 0-1, Hachimura 0-2, Timme 0-2, Vanderbilt 0-2, L.James 0-3, LaRavia 0-5), Cleveland 17-44 (Tyson 3-7, Hunter 3-8, Mitchell 3-9, Proctor 2-2, Wade 2-3, Bryant 2-5, Merrill 1-3, Porter Jr. 1-3, Nance Jr. 0-2, Tomlin 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Lakers 36 (Vanderbilt 6), Cleveland 46 (Allen 9). Assists—L.A. Lakers 21 (Doncic 6), Cleveland 32 (Tyson 6). Total Fouls—L.A. Lakers 16, Cleveland 15. A—19,432 (19,432)