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 James, who was given a warm welcome by Miami fans, scored 30
points on nine of 16 shooting, with eight assists and four
turnovers.
The four-times NBA Most Valuable Player returned to Cleveland in
July, reuniting with the team where he made his name before moving
to Miami in 2010.
Miami, without the injured Chris Bosh, started and finished the game
well, with Dwyane Wade scoring 31 points, 24 of them in the first
half, and Luol Deng putting up 25.
There were a few boos mixed in with cheers and applause when James's
name was announced before the opening tip-off but the true sentiment
of the crowd was evident after a first quarter time-out when the
Heat showed a highlight reel of his achievements during his four
years in Miami.
 The crowd stood to applaud and James acknowledged the appreciation
by waving to all four sides of the court.
"It was cool, a lot of emotions come back," said the 29-year-old. "I
spent four years here with those guys. We put in a lot of hard work
and dedication just to do the best we could."
At the end of the game, James embraced his former team mates and had
a lengthy conversation with Wade, who he had spent Christmas Eve
with.
The duel between the two stars had been highly anticipated and James
said it brought back memories of the clashes they had before
becoming team mates.
"It brought back old times and the battles we had. Once we put up 30
against each other, it was like old times," he said.
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James also questioned why players were often criticized more for
switching teams than teams are for trading players away.
He said there had been no reason for any rancor about his move back
to his home state of Ohio.
"I never disrespected this city or this franchise or any of my team
mates," he said.
The Heat saw a second quarter 17 point lead to two by late in the
third but, inspired by Deng and Chris Andersen, they found another
gear and ran out comfortable winners.
Cleveland were without Brazilian center Anderson Varejao, who has
been ruled out for the rest of season after tearing his left
Achilles tendon.
(Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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