LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jarrett Allen scored a season-high 27 points, Donovan Mitchell added 26 and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their eighth straight, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 122-110 Wednesday night and spoiling LeBron James' first game after turning 40.
James, who celebrated his birthday on Monday, scored 23 points as he became the first player in NBA history to appear in a game in his teens and 40s. Coincidentally, the milestone game came against the team that drafted James first overall in 2003 and where he spent 12 seasons in two stints.
The Akron, Ohio, native helped lead the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in 2016.
Evan Mobley added 20 points for Cleveland, which enters the new year with an NBA-best 29-4 record, including a 9-0 against the Western Conference.
Austin Reaves had a season-high 35 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Lakers. Anthony Davis added 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Los Angeles goes into 2025 with an 18-14 mark, seventh in the Western Conference.
Cavaliers: Sam Merrill sprained his right ankle during the second quarter and did not return. Darius Garland had a season-high 14 assists.
Lakers: Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton made their Los Angeles debuts after being acquired in a trade with Brooklyn on Monday. Milton scored six points and Finney-Smith two.
Cleveland led 96-80 less than three minutes into the fourth quarter before Los Angeles started to rally. The Lakers got within 112-107 before the Cavaliers closed the game on a 10-3 run. Allen's dunk with 1:58 remaining gave Cleveland a 116-107 advantage, putting it out of reach.
The Cavaliers made 18 3-pointers, the seventh straight game they have had at least that many from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers wrap up their road trip at Dallas on Friday, while the Lakers host Portland on Thursday.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) high-fives guard Dalton Knecht (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, top left, drives past Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley gestures after a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, right, shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The new Los Angeles County District Attorney met with the Menendez brothers' family as he continues to review their bid for freedom 35 years after they were convicted of killing their parents.
Nathan Hochman, who took office in December, said Friday that he had a “productive session” with the family members, who shared their thoughts with him on whether the brothers should be released. The meeting lasted about three hours.
Brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez were found guilty of murdering Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Now in their 50s, they began their bid for freedom in recent years after new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse emerged in their case. Their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition — a request for a court to examine whether someone is being lawfully detained — in May 2023, asking a judge to consider the evidence.
The brothers have the support of most of their extended family, who have said they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
In October 2024, then-District Attorney George Gascon recommended the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole. Hochman, who was running against Gascon, called it a “desperate political move.”
“By releasing it now, Gascon has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision,” he said at the time.
A judge delayed the brothers' resentencing hearing, originally set for early December, to the end of January. Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said he needed time to review extensive evidence and give Hochman time to weigh in on the case.
Hochman said Friday he was still reviewing thousands of pages of prison records to “analyze the rehabilitation aspect of resentencing.” Evidence of rehabilitation could include not engaging in illegal activity while in prison, starting organizations that helped other prisoners, and using that time to improve oneself, he said.
At the brothers' original trials, their defense attorneys argued that they had been sexually abused by their father. Prosecutors denied that and accused them of killing their parents for money. In the years that followed, they repeatedly appealed their convictions without success.
The brothers are being held at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman talks about the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents decades ago during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Attorneys Mark Geragos, center, and Bryan Freedman, left, leave before a news conference held by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman regarding resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez for the murders of their parents, in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
