Mychel Thompson, right, made his first start tonight for the Cleveland Cavaliers./AP Photo.

With shooting guards Daniel Gibson (neck) and Anthony Parker (back) out with injuries, former Erie BayHawks small forward Mychel Thompson got his first start for the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.

A 6-foot-6, 211-pound rookie, Thompson had eight points on 3-of-9 shooting, four assists and three turnovers in a 93-90 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Thompson, 23, played 30 minutes, 52 seconds tonight.

In the only two games he previous played for the Cavaliers, Thompson played 14 minutes total. He had four points in 12 minutes in a 88-87 win Sunday at Boston.

in his first action for Cleveland, Thompson didn’t score and played in the final two minutes, 23 seconds of the Cavaliers’ 92-77 loss Jan. 4 at Toronto.

Here’s what LeBron  James had to say before tonight’s game between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

This is the second time James has played in Cleveland for the Heat since he decided to leave the Cavaliers last summer to play in Miami. The Heat beat the Cavaliers, 118-90, Dec. 2 and James had 38 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

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Before I go any further, there was one arrest and four ejections. I saw one of those guys getting taken out the arena.

Crazy.

Now back to this scene. This was one of the most entertaining nights in my career as a sports journalist.

What I saw tonight was one man entering the most hostile environment he’s ever faced as a player and it was in his home area. It was so surreal. Just a scene of angry fans filled with emotion for one guy.

He was a little edgy at first. Didn’t shoot great in the first half (5-of-13), but two things happened to loosen LeBron James up. One, the fans really started getting on him when he was at the FT line and he started smiling.

I think at that point he figured, this is going to be rough,’ but he also figured he’d be OK.
Then he started talking the players on the Cavs bench. Laughing. Joking. I’m like, what in the world is going on. Now I saw a video here that one of the Cavs assistants cursed at James, but then J.J. Hickson was still talking to James. Don’t know when it was during the game.

One thing I am certain of is when that second half came around, LeBron caught fire.
10-of-12 shooting. 24 points. In comparison. Cavs were 7-of-13 as a team for 25 points.
The Heat were up by 30 at the end of the Q. James didn’t even play in the fourth.
Game over.

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1. Eddie House was waiting for Daniel Gibson to come out the locker room. It took two security guards and teammate Carlos Arroyo to talk him into coming into the locker room.
2. Kept seeing Wally Szczerbiak walking around.
3. Said hello to TNT’s David Aldridge. Good guy.
4. Erik Spolestra kept talking about how his team handled this “extreme” situation. Called it a playoff atmosphere. He also said it was nice to see the team stand up and play well for LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Then he said he was told a battery was thrown at the Heat bench, but was confident in the security.
5. Saw Daniel Gibson leaving with his wife, singer Keyshia Cole. Hope he went the opposite way of the Heat bench.
6. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was heated. He walked out with the wind to his back.
7. Saw J.J. Hickson laughing after the game (Why, your team just got beat down).
8. Waiting for LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh to do postgame in the open room Cleveland has. They use that area for the playoffs.
9. Then Miami’s Big 3 came out.
10. LeBron was asked all the questions expect one, which went to D-Wade.
11. In short, LeBron basically said he wasn’t going to apologize for doing the charity work for the kids in “The Decision” part. Said he lives with his decisions and has never regretted any decision he’s made. Said the execution of “The Decision” was a tad bit off. Talked about how the team played well. Continually said he had nothing against the Cleveland fans and understand they were going to do everything they could to help their team win. Said the Cavalier fans were not on his list of people who he was keeping a mental checklist. Said the chatter he had with the Cleveland teammates on the bench was fun for him (Doubt it was fun for the other team).
12. Then the Miami PR people cut the interview much to the dismay of ESPN’s Rachel Nichols. She was looking at them like, “Are you serious?” Then the Miami Big 3 walked out just as James used to do when he was with Cleveland.

1. LeBron James starts the Q on the bench. Never comes back in game.
2. D-Wade and Chris Bosh come out with 6:56 left in the Q.
3. Cup came out of the stands. Security surrounds the Heat bench.
4. LeBron laughing.
5. 6:12 Daniel Gibson 3.
6. Sign “We should have signed Darko”
7. 5:09 Fans leaving.
8. LeBron talking to J.J. Hickson as Hickson walked on the court.
9. Fans cursing at Cavs to play better.
10. Technical fouls on Eddie House (Heat) and Daniel Gibson (Cavs).
11. Timeout Miami (Why). 2:25 left.
12. James salutes a fan.
13. More security behind the bench.
14. Wade, James, Bosh having fun on bench.
15. Mario Chalmers hits 3 (LeBron stands up) :56 seconds left.
16. LeBron smiling.
17. Guy takes picture of LeBron on bench wearing a Cavs jacket.
18. End of game. LeBron hugs Cleveland forward Jawad Williams. Rest of Cavs leave.
19. Final score: Heat win 118-90. Final line for James (38 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds).

1.National anthem. Fan said “U Suck LeBron” during the singing of it
2. J.J. Hickson started hot. Two dunks. One he went by LeBron James.
3. Chants: “Delonte” “Delonte” “Akron hates you.”
4. LeBron/Joey Graham duel. LeBron demonstrating he’s putting elbows in his back. Graham getting physical.
5. Antawn Jamison took Bosh to the rim. Wow. Bosh playing soft.
6. LeBron at FT line. Smiling as they were calling him (expletive)
7. Reverse lay up by James (got headband knocked off).
8. James hit next shot (J). Hit  following shot.
9. James next assist to James Jones for 3.
10. James hit last three shots (over Gibson)
11. James tried to dunk on whole team missed
12. Assist LeBron (to Juwan Howard) 16-0 run.
13. 3 Gibson
13. Another assist for LeBron (3 for Jones)
14. 3 Gibson
End of 1st
31-23 Miami (James played whole first quarter – 10 points, 4-of-8 shooting)

Was this LeBron James' last game Tuesday night in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena wearing a Cavalier uniform?

  The two-time MVP’s body language wasn’t good.

  And since LeBron James is their leader, the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers were just as lifeless.

  Now they’re a loss away from seeing championship aspirations expire after losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 120-88, to the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena.

  If the Celtics close out the Cavaliers in Thursday’s Game 6 in Boston, the sellout crowd of 20,562 may have watched James play his last game for Cleveland in Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night.

   They didn’t see his best effort.

   In fact, it may have been the worst playoff performance of his splendid 7-year NBA career.

    James had just 15 points, shooting a woeful 3-of-14 from the field. He only attempted four shots in the first half, missed them all and the electric energy that typically radiates off him was barely pulsating.

   By the fourth quarter when James missed a free throw with 10:31 in the game, sprinkle of boos came from the stands.

   James wasn’t the only who didn’t bring it Tuesday night.

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Shaquille O’Neal left Friday night’s win against Portland with an eye injury after Blazers’ center Joel Przybilla racked him over the face. O’Neal was taken to Cleveland Clinic Courts.

The Cavaliers are calling it a left eye contusion, but he along with Daniel Gibson are traveling with the Cavaliers for Sunday night’s game at Oklahoma City. Gibson has a little right finger sprain.

A 17-year veteran, O’Neal is averaging 11.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks this season.

Cavs 44, Celtics 44.

Great game.

Cavs made 5 of its first 6 shots and lead 13-2, but now the game is tied and Boston actually lead by three points.  Here are some things I’ve noticed off the court.

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LeBron James is a load to stop. Jarvis Gunter can attest to that.

Switch.

Erie BayHawks center Jarvis Gunter did so on a pick and was left to defend the 2008-09 NBA MVP: LeBron James.

Uh oh.

“I got caught guarding him on a switch for a couple of seconds, but he passed it,” Gunter said. “I just trying to keep him in front of me. Not let him get past me.”

Whew.

Along with former Gannon senior center Kyle Goldcamp, Gunter has been traveling to Cleveland Clinic Courts to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in pick-up games to help the Cavaliers get ready for training camp.

Gunter has got his share of training out of it as well

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