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CLEVELAND — If only for one night, and perhaps for the final time, LeBron James brought a playoff atmosphere back to Northeast Ohio.

While James, wearing purple and gold for the first time inside Quicken Loans Arena, was the enemy once again, this time had a much different feel. His Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-105 on a night that felt more like a celebration then a send-off.

James received a mostly standing ovation during player introductions and later a video tribute that touched on his on-court achievements as well as his charity and community work. He acknowledged the crowd both times, a far cry from his return as a member of the Miami Heat eight years ago.

“We’ve all grown from that moment,” James said. “Those last four years, those championship runs we were making. That was my salute to them.”

While James agreed to sign with the Lakers on July 1, his departure from the Cavs seemed destined even before that. As Cleveland’s 2016 championship team slowly began to fall apart via free agency and trade, the group’s latest run to the Finals in June ended in an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. The slim hope he would return was still there, but people around Northeast Ohio were slowly starting to accept that James’ latest tenure would once again be coming to an end.

“To be perfectly honest, when he did make the decision, I wasn’t completely shocked,” head coach Larry Drew, then the associate head coach under Tyronn Lue, told Bleacher Report. “I know everyone was hoping that he would return. I didn’t feel there was anything we could have done. That was just a decision that a player makes when he’s in that part of his career. He’s going to make the right decision for himself, his family and his career, and that’s what he did.”

A quick poll of the Cavaliers locker room revealed no ill feelings toward James or his departure that has turned an Eastern Conference champion for four consecutive years into an NBA-worst 2-14 this season. Kevin Love, the new face of the Cavaliers despite currently being sidelined following toe surgery, sought out James before the game outside the Lakers locker room. Channing Frye and Larry Nance Jr. left the Cavs bench to dap up James before tipoff, and Tristan Thompson shared his old trademark handshake with the four-time MVP.

“I wasn’t surprised; I was happy,” Thompson told B/R on James’ signing with the Lakers. “That’s my brother. I wasn’t surprised, just happy for him.

“He gave so much to this organization. He gave a lot to Miami. I think for him, he wanted to do what made him happy. I don’t think it was so much the team per se—it might have been bits and pieces. For me personally, I laid it all on the line. At this point in his career, he deserved to make himself happy and his family happy, and they felt like that was playing for the Lakers. He’s a guy that likes to challenge himself, and I think it’s a great challenge for him. It’s part of this great book he’s going to write when he’s all said and done, so it was fun.”

Now with JR Smith no longer with the team, few faces remain from Cleveland’s championship just two-and-a-half years ago. James is gone. Love is out until January. Frye is 35 and has appeared in only three games this season.

As expected as James’ departure was, there’s no doubt he was the glue able to hold all of the turnover together and still elevate the team into the Finals.

As one Cavs veteran remarked after the game, “Man, I miss playing on this stage.”

Still, this was a night to celebrate James and all he had done for Cleveland. Perhaps no player was as grateful for his time with James as second-year forward Cedi Osman. As a rookie last season, Osman was taken under James’ gigantic wing and thrown head first into the NBA fire. 

“When he moved to L.A. of course I was upset,” Osman told B/R. “But when I look back in my first year, I played in the NBA Finals. Played a lot of times with him on the court, practiced with him. It’s all I could have asked.”

Osman is now starting at small forward for Cleveland, a spot his mentor held for 10 years. His 21 points led the Cavs against James’ Lakers and was the second-most overall in the game next to James’ 32.

“I don’t think anybody could have changed his mind except his family. He wanted what was best for his family, and that’s what everybody wants,” Osman said.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Osman still texts with James, and the pair famously worked out this summer in Los Angeles with Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard. Osman says he hopes to get a call from James next offseason as well because he’s “the best player in the world.”

“Cedi is one of my favorite guys that I’ve played with, and that was only for a year,” James said. “He has a love for the game. So my relationship has grown even stronger with Cedi, even though I’ve been on another coast.”

On a night that was filled with so much hate eight years ago, not a poor word could be found between fans or ex-teammates. The appreciation for James and the championship he helped deliver is still fresh in the minds of those who suffered for so long without a title. For those who helped him win it, there’s no ill will for him now leaving the franchise in ruins.

A playoff atmosphere. A celebration of what was instead of hatred for what now is. Growth was indeed shown in Cleveland by all.

“That’s how it was supposed to be,” Thompson said. “They did it the right way. I think everyone understood and was almost, like, ready. It was like, we appreciate this guy. He’s given us so much; he’s given us everything he’s got. If he wants to move on and start another chapter in his life, we’re all for it.

“You’re still friends at the end of the day,” Thompson adds. “I’m going to love you just like you’re going to love me. I’m just going to love you from afar.”

Greg Swartz covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. 

Noah Graham/Getty Images

The Golden State Warriors’ struggles continued on Wednesday night with a 123-95 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Oracle Arena. 

This marks the first time since March 2013 that Golden State has lost at least four straight games. This will also add to the speculation about turmoil inside the locker room stemming from the altercation between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green that took place during an overtime loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 12. 

Durant did his best to keep the Warriors close and challenge former teammate Russell Westbrook. The two-time NBA Finals MVP scored 27 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds. Westbrook finished with a triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. 

Paul George, Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder each scored over 20 points. Schroder had his best game in an Oklahoma City uniform with 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting off the bench. 

Elite Defense Will Carry Thunder Into Playoffs

The Thunder have taken up the throne occupied by the Utah Jazz at the end of last season. They are a team playing elite-level defense with a limited offensive style that is doing enough to get by, even on an off night like they had against the Warriors.  

After holding the Warriors to a season-low 18 points in the first quarter, the Thunder did even better in the fourth quarter by allowing just 16 points. 

Coming into Wednesday’s game, Oklahoma City ranked fourth in the NBA in defensive efficiency (104.5 points per 100 possessions) and sixth in points allowed per game (106.2).  

Conventional wisdom suggested the Thunder wouldn’t be as good on defense early in the season with Andre Roberson still recovering from left knee surgery. 

Per NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, the 11.2-point difference with Roberson on the floor last season versus without him was the biggest in the NBA out of 266 qualified players. 

Golden State finished the game shooting 43.4 percent from the field, including 7-of-29 from three-point range. 

That continues the Thunder’s trend of not giving opponents easy looks from behind the arc. Per NBA.com (h/t SB Nation’s Bobby Chancellor), they are only allowing other teams to get five uncontested three-pointers per game. 

Despite having prominent offensive talent like George and Westbrook, the Thunder aren’t a dynamic offense. That duo combined to shoot 15-of-38 against Golden State. The entire offense was successful due in large part to second-chance points created by 18 offensive rebounds. 

George’s 41.3 percent shooting coming into Wednesday is his worst mark since 2014-15 when he only played six games late in the season after suffering a compound fracture in his right leg during a Team USA scrimmage in August 2014. 

Westbrook, who only made five of his 15 attempts from the field against Golden State, is shooting a career-low 20.0 percent from three-point range. 

Unless the Thunder make a move to add a prominent shooter to the mix, defense has to be their driving force if they want to have a deep playoff run.  

Struggling Warriors Don’t Need to Panic Yet

Conventional wisdom would suggest the Warriors are falling apart after losing five of their past six games since the Durant-Green blowup on the sidelines. Their offense has been held under 100 points three times in the past four games. 

Klay Thompson tried to deflect attention from Golden State’s losing streak after Sunday’s 104-92 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, via ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell:

“It was a terrible road trip as far as wins and losses. But we’re obviously short-handed. I’m proud of the way the guys fought. Besides the Houston game, I feel like either game could have gone either way; unfortunately, it didn’t. It’s been a challenging week on all fronts. The best thing for us is just to get away a little bit [Monday], regroup, take it back home and just have fun, play with that joy.”

The key point from Thompson’s statement is the Warriors are playing short-handed right now. They haven’t had Stephen Curry since he injured his groin against the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 8.

Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Curry won’t return until Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic, at the earliest. 

No one will deny Durant’s ability, but there is ample evidence provided from NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh to suggest Curry is Golden State’s most important player:

Golden State also played against the Thunder without Green due to a toe injury. 

Even though the Warriors’ four-year run of dominance has looked easy, this year’s team doesn’t have the depth due to cap constraints.

The departure of JaVale McGee and retirement of David West left the team without a true center, which helps explain why Oklahoma City was so successful on the offensive glass. That position will change when DeMarcus Cousins returns from a torn Achilles, but that doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon. 

Because of all those injuries, there are no definitive statements to make about the Warriors at this moment. They looked like the defending back-to-back champions and best team in the NBA as recently as two weeks ago when everyone was healthy. 

Four straight losses certainly looks bad, especially in light of the Durant-Green drama, but the Warriors will still be favored to win a third straight title by the time the playoffs roll around if Curry, Green and Cousins are in the lineup.  

What’s Next? 

The Thunder head back to Oklahoma City to kick off a four-game homestand, starting with the Charlotte Hornets on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The Warriors host the Portland Trail Blazers in a marquee Western Conference matchup on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET. 

Kathryn Riley/Getty Images

After the Boston Celtics‘ 117-109 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, C’s point guard Kyrie Irving provided his thoughts on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday:

Per Clevis Murray of The Athletic, the remark came after someone in the locker room wished Irving a happy Thanksgiving.

The comment likely goes far deeper than frustration following a disappointing loss to the 5-14 Knicks, as Weiss alluded to in a follow-up tweet:

Per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, “Irving was given the Lakota name Little Mountain by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe” in a late-August ceremony. Asia Irving, Kyrie’s older sister, was also honored.

As Windhorst noted, “Irving’s mother, Elizabeth Larson, was a descendant of the Standing Rock Sioux but was adopted out as a small child. Irving, whose mother died when he was four, has known about his lineage and has recently starting embracing it publicly.”

While modern-day Thanksgiving is typically a time for family and friends to get together and share food and company, the historical roots of the holiday originate from a dark time in the Americas, when Native Americans suffered genocide at the hands of Pilgrims in the 17th century.

As Dennis Zotigh, a writer and cultural specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, noted in 2016: “Many Natives particularly in the New England area remember this attempted genocide as a factual part of their history and are reminded each year during the modern Thanksgiving.”

Therefore, Irving’s comment isn’t surprising given the context of the situation.

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