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Wizards hand LeBron rare loss in 1st game after All-Star break

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

LeBron James entered Thursday night possessing one heck of a track record when it comes to the first game following the NBA's All-Star break.

Not only were his teams (Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers) riding a seven-game winning streak under those circumstances, but they blew teams out in the process, outscoring opponents by an average of 17.4 points.

Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards brought James' run of dominance to an abrupt halt, though, as they went into Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday and pulled out an impressive 110-103 victory without the services of John Wall.

Had it not been for James, Washington's margin of victory would have been much larger. The four-time league Most Valuable Player scored Cleveland's last 14 points in the final 5:54 of the fourth quarter, connecting on 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 at the charity stripe, while his teammates missed all three of their field-goal attempts.

James just fell short of his 11th triple-double of the campaign with a line of 32 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in 37 minutes of action.

This marks Cleveland's first defeat since purging its roster prior to the trade deadline, bringing aboard younger talent like Larry Nance Jr. (25) and Jordan Clarkson (25) while showing the likes of Derrick Rose (29) and Dwyane Wade (36) the door. The Cavaliers picked up victories over both the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder with their new players in tow ahead of All-Star weekend.

Only half a game now separates Cleveland (No. 3, 34-23) and the Wizards (No. 4, 34-24) in the Eastern Conference standings, with the Indiana Pacers (33-25), Milwaukee Bucks (32-25), and Philadelphia 76ers (31-25) not far behind.

The Cavaliers are still lacking a legitimate interior presence to defend the rim and, without Kevin Love, a true No. 2 option on offense behind James. Now that teams have been able to rest and game plan for the final weeks of the season, the element of surprise is no longer on their side.

Cleveland is back on the hardwood Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum.

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