Cavaliers: Did not commit a turnover in the first half. Starting G George Hill missed his sixth straight game with a sprained right shoulder sustained on Nov 4. Hill has ramped up his on-court workouts in recent days and could be back soon. Drew said he was unaware of Smith's comments accusing the Cavs of "tanking."

Drew believes his team is playing hard, and promised to nothing but coach his team to win. "To coach to lose, I don't understand that, I don't know how to do that," he said. "I don't know how anybody can do that. That's something I would never, ever do."

School day

Earlier in the day, James made a surprise visit to his I Promise School, a refurbished elementary for at-risk kids he founded and plans to expand.

"It was grandparent's day," he said. "We kept it that way, we didn't tell none of the kids until I actually walked into all six of the classrooms individually, spent a good amount of time with those classrooms, my third and fourth graders. It was great. It was a good way to go into Thanksgiving, all of being thankful, the great lives they've had."

Home cooking

Following the game, the Lakers feasted on hamburgers, french fries and shakes from Swenson's, an Akron drive-in restaurant favored by James.

Sitting at his locker, James sipped on a banana shake and smiled.

"I'm good," he said. "I got my hometown food."

Up next

Lakers: Host Utah on Friday.

Cavaliers: At Philadelphia on Friday.

Associated Press