LeBron James Returns To Cleveland, Leaves With Satisfaction

LeBron James made a statement tonight to the city of Cleveland and it went something like this—

"You need me more then I need you."

As the boos rained down, as the signs went up and the chants developed, LeBron unleashed his own message, making shot after shot—a dagger to the heart of the Cleveland crowd.

The whole stadium erupted when former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was called for the Heat's starting lineup.

Not so much for LeBron.

Just before tip-off James did his trademark powder toss much to the Cleveland crowd's chagrin.

He had a slow first quarter and each time he touched the ball fans at the Quicken Loans Arena pelted him with boos.

But LeBron was not to be denied for the rest of the game as he drilled shot—after shot— after shot.

Behind a 16-0 run in the second quarter Miami took the lead and never looked back thanks in large part part to the outstanding play of the "King".

LeBron was the commander of the Heat offense as Dwayne Wade took to the bench.

It's a credit to James that the taunts and jeers failed to impact his play.

By the end of the second quarter Miami had the game in-hand and James had 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

But it didn't stop there.

LeBron dominated the third quarter, racking up 24 points and schooling every Cleveland defender that stepped in his way.

It appears that LeBron James got the last laugh in this battle of him versus Cleveland.

His stats for this game?—38 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds.

Oh yeah, his new team won the game too.