“We want Bronny! We want Bronny!”
That was the chant from a crowd desperate to see Bronny James take to the floor on Wednesday, but it came mostly from opposition fans.
Specifically, Cleveland Cavaliers fans, who wanted to see the son of franchise hero, LeBron James, get some time on the court during the visit of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers head coach JJ Reddick finally obliged and put Bronny into game in the fourth quarter to a loud ovation from the Cleveland crowd.
With just over two minutes remaining, the younger James gave the crowd the moment they had been waiting for and scored his first career NBA points with a step-back jump shot. A huge cheer went up inside the arena.
In the context of the game, the shot mattered little as the Cavaliers eased to a 134-110 win over the Lakers, but it was a moment the crowd – and Bronny and LeBron – will likely remember forever.
Both men were born in Akron, just outside of Cleveland, and LeBron led his hometown Cavaliers to their first and only NBA championship in 2016, leading a historic comeback against the Golden State Warriors.
The pair made history on the opening day of the season when they became the first father-son duo to appear together in an NBA game. Ahead of the Wednesday’s game, Bronny posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, photos of posters the Cavaliers had put up inside the arena of LeBron and a young Bronny celebrating that title, with the captions “Welcome home Bronny” and “Welcome home LeBron.”
Bronny called the atmosphere inside the arena “insane.”
“Much more than I anticipated for sure, but it’s all love,” he said. “It was a nice moment. The chants really got me. I was straight-faced, but I felt it and it felt really good, especially coming from here. It was a special moment for me for sure.”
Bronny added that he had been dreaming of scoring his first NBA basket, which came 21 years and one day after LeBron’s first points in the league, “since I picked a ball up.”
“I’ve been watching this guy for a minute, playing in the league” he said, pointing to LeBron. “So just dreaming of me being in those players’ steps, not only his but players he’s played against and with. So it was just a dream come true for me.”
There was a comical moment when broadcast cameras panned to a completely expressionless – and apparently emotionless – LeBron on the sideline after Bronny scored his basket, but the 39-year-old wore a proud smile throughout the post-game press conference as he watched his son speaking to reporters.
“He’s better than I would have been in that situation,” LeBron said. “20,000 fans screaming my name to get in the game and wanting me to be in the game, and if the role’s reversed, I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it.
“So I commend him on his composure, the way he approaches not only the game but life in general.
“To see him get his first NBA basket in this arena where he grew up not too far away from here, it’s an unbelievable moment. An unbelievable moment for him, first of all, for our family. It’s just pretty cool to be a part of it.”
Pacers hand Celtics their first defeat of the season
The Indiana Pacers survived a huge comeback attempt from the Boston Celtics to hand the defending champions their first defeat of the season on Wednesday.
Indiana’s scintillating offense opened up a 24-point lead in the third quarter, but then capitulated down the stretch to allow Boston to tie the game and take it to overtime.
But Indiana, which was swept by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, showed impressive grit to hold off the Boston surge and earn a 135-132 win thanks to a clutch Pascal Siakam three-pointer with six seconds remaining.
Siakam, who lost all nine games he played against the Celtics last season for the Pacers and Toronto Raptors, finished with 29 points – going 6-of-8 from deep – 11 rebounds and five assists.
Bennedict Mathurin had a huge 30-point, 11-rebound night in one of the best games of his young career, while Tyrese Haliburton added 17 points and 12 assists.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 37 points, while Jaylen Brown added 25 and Derrick White 23.
KAT puts up 44 as Knicks beat the Heat
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 44 points as the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 116-107 on Wednesday.
In his best performance for his new franchise since being traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Towns shot an efficient 68% from the floor, including going 4-of-5 from three-point range, to go with 13 rebounds.
The Knicks trailed by 13 points in the third quarter but went on a blistering run to open up a seven-point lead entering the fourth.
Jalen Brunson had 22 points and nine assists for the Knicks, while Josh Hart had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Tyler Herro had 34 points for the Heat, hitting eight triples, to go with five rebounds and seven assists.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo continued their slow starts to the season with 15 and 11 points respectively.
Wednesday’s full scores
Away @ home (winners in bold)
Los Angeles Lakers 110-134 Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics 132-135(OT) Indiana Pacers
New York Knicks 116-107 Miami Heat
Atlanta Hawks 120-133 Washington Wizards
Detroit Pistons 105-95 Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors 133-138 Charlotte Hornets
Brooklyn Nets 119-106 Memphis Grizzlies
Orlando Magic 99-102 Chicago Bulls
San Antonio Spurs 93- 105 Oklahoma City Thunder
New Orleans Pelicans 89-104 Golden State Warriors
Portland Trail Blazers 106-105 Los Angeles Clippers