The Cavaliers defeat the Lakers 134-110 as Bronny James scores his first NBA points as dad watches from the bench

CLEVELAND (AP) — Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in a game that marked a special homecoming for LeBron James included his son Bronny.

The win marks the first time the Cavs have started 5-0 under LeBron's leadership since the 2016-17 season and the third time in franchise history.

In the final minutes, Bronny played for the second time as a professional and came on as a substitute with 5:16 to go. The younger James, who grew up in the arena, managed a 14-foot jump in 2:03 to play for his first NBA points.

Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Cleveland.

LeBron scored 26 and Anthony Davis had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who were unable to cut Cleveland's lead after falling behind by 23 in the first half.

Takeaways

Lakers: A slow start proved costly, leading to a second straight loss. First-year coach JJ Redick is still learning about his team.

Cavaliers: Cleveland is playing at a faster pace this season under new coach Kenny Atkinson, who is emphasizing ball movement and increasing the tempo on offense.

Key moment

Mitchell drained back-to-back 3-pointers as the Cavaliers made four treys in a span of 1:45 in the first quarter to open a 19-point lead after one point.

Important statistics

Caris LeVert came off the bench early when Darius Garland picked up two early fouls and scored 16 points with six assists. … Despite the loss, LeBron did well against the Cavaliers, going 19-4 with Miami and LA beating them

Next

The Lakers continue their trip to Toronto on Friday, while the Cavaliers host the Magic in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference playoff series, also on Friday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA