LeBron James finished with eight points on 3-for-12 shooting and six turnovers in the Philadelphia 76ers' 119-96 NBA Cup loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.

Together, James and Embiid became the third pair of former MVP teammates in NBA history to each score in single digits while shooting 25% or worse in the same game. "I know I damn sure wasn't good at all," James said afterward.

The porous night ended James' 396-game streak of scoring at least 10 points in Cleveland, according to ESPN. The last time he failed to reach double digits in that building was December 29, 2004 — a day before his 20th birthday.

Sixteen years later, with gray hairs in his beard, James struggled to blow past Cavaliers defenders, missed off target and turned the ball over six times.

For the first time this season, he looked every bit a player in his 24th NBA campaign, failing even to exploit his usual strength advantage when Cleveland put James Harden on him.

The reception was warm — most of the arena stood to cheer, giving James louder roars than the Cavaliers' own starters, ESPN reports. James framed it against his infamous December 2, 2010 return with the Heat, when he was mercilessly booed after leaving via the televised Decision.

"Nothing can get worse than Dec. 2, 2010, from a reception standpoint," he said. "I've seen the depths of hell when it comes to reception here, all the way to the heavens above. So anything in between is easy money."

PhillyVoice notes Cavaliers fans largely treated him as an opponent, with occasional boos between the ovations, and that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson admitted last month the team was 'depressed' after losing its offseason pursuit.

After a dream 8-1 start in which the new-look roster meshed faster than expected, the Sixers looked like the version most critics predicted, PhillyVoice reports: stagnant half-court offense, turnovers aplenty and jammed-up possessions.

James admitted several miscues were careless while others were failed attempts at the right play.

Coach Nick Nurse downplayed it: "I don't want to make a big deal out of it... we've created a lot of the shots we want. Tonight, we got a lot of tough shots and a lot of jammed-up possessions — more than we've had in the other nine games this year."

James noted the team cut the lead to three in the third quarter before collapsing.

Despite the blowout, Philadelphia sits at 8-2 through ten games, and James sees no reason for alarm. "If you would have told me our team, through the first 10 games of the season, would be 8-2, I'd take it," he said.

The Sixers next travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Sunday, where a bounce-back from the 41-year-old would surprise no one — James has played bad games before, and with the supporting firepower around him, PhillyVoice argues he can afford to pace himself through his 24th season.

"Tonight was not our shot," James conceded. "We've just got to simply be better."