James Is King for a Day

LeBron James lived up to the hype Tuesday night by dominating the competition in his first summer league game.

James, the 18-year-old No. 1 pick of Cleveland in last month’s NBA draft, had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Cavaliers’ 107-80 victory over Orlando before 15,123 at the T.D. Waterhouse Centre.

Playing 23 minutes of a 40-minute game, James was five of 11 from the field and four of four from the free-throw line. He had three turnovers and missed three attempts from three-point range.

He sat out the third quarter, icing his right leg after sustaining a minor contusion.

James’ game showed little rust although it was his first competition since late March, when he led Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High to the Ohio state championship.

In the first three minutes, James had a wicked one-handed dunk after stealing a pass under the basket, made a reverse layup and had a dazzling pass in the lane that DeSagana Diop converted into a short jump hook. James later wowed the crowd with a reverse layup while falling down.

Before the game, $5 tickets were being scalped for $80 and a traffic jam developed around the arena five hours before the opening tip.

The Magic issued about 170 media credentials, about the same as for a playoff game.

“I like playing in front of big crowds,” James said. “I think I play a lot better. My teammates like it, too.

“I keep telling them, my crowds [in high school] were bigger than the Cavs’ crowds last year.”

There were three lowlights: In the first quarter, he airballed a three-point attempt as the shot clock wound down, and a late defensive rotation left his man open for a baseline jump shot.

But the worst came early in the third quarter, when James threw a lazy outlet pass that was picked off by Britton Johnsen, who promptly dunked on James.

“What you all don’t know is that I get dunked on a lot in practice,” James said.