LeBron is returning to Cleveland tonight

The air was heavy, heaving with hatred.

And when LeBron James skipped onto the Quicken Loans Arena floor on Dec. 2, 2010, with his Miami teammates, scorned Cleveland fans aimed their fury at one of their own, the kid from Akron who was shaken by the experience.

James was profanely taunted, booed and mocked. It was vile. It was personal.

Eight years later, he’ll feel loved.

James returns to Cleveland tonight for the first time since leaving as a free agent last summer and signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s coming back to a city still grappling with losing him again and wondering what might have been had the world’s best all-around player stayed.

But unlike his previous comeback, the 33-year-old is coming home to be saluted for what he did during 11 years with the Cavaliers.

He revived a franchise, lifted an entire region and brought a championship.

“It’s going to be fun,” said Cavs forward Kyle Korver, who spent two seasons with James. “LeBron had an incredible run in Cleveland. He touched Cleveland. He touched Akron. Us as individuals, we were all fortunate to get some time with him. I think hopefully he feels that.”

Early in the game, the Cavs will show a video tribute of the franchise’s career leader in virtually every statistical category. WIZARDS 125, CLIPPERS 118 >> John Wall scored 30, Bradley Beal had 27 and Jeff Green added 20 as Washington rallied from 24 points down. RAPTORS 93, MAGIC 91 >> Danny Green made a fadeaway jumper with less than a second remaining to lift Toronto over Orlando. TRAIL BLAZERS 118, KNICKS 114 >> CJ McCollum scored 31 points, Damian Lillard had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

NETS 104, HEAT 92 >> D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points, Jarrett Allen had 13 points, and Brooklyn added to Miami’s misery at home.