LOS ANGELES _ The "We Want LeBron" chants began with 10:07 remaining in the second quarter Saturday night at Staples Center.
One man's plaintive plea cut to the heart.
"I want LeBron for my son," he said.
A young man selling 50-50 raffle tickets held a sign that read, "Inactives James, Love, Irving, The Fans."
But Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue did not succumb in a 108-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Cavs opened a four-game, three-city road trip against the Clippers and face the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday. Lue knew Kevin Love, only one game into his return from arthroscopic knee surgery, has not been cleared to play in a back-to-back. Lue knew Kyrie Irving experienced left knee stiffness Thursday night against the Utah Jazz that sidelined him for the fourth quarter and needed the night off.
Lue is determined to build rhythm before the regular season ends on April 12. So he decided the Big Three, led by LeBron James, would be a package deal and would play instead against the Lakers.
Love sat on the bench in street clothes. Irving and James, in long-sleeved warmup tees, seemed impervious to the jeers aimed at James and Lue.
With Kyle Korver also missing his sixth consecutive game with a sore left foot, the Cavs' offensive ineptitude reached a season low. The Cavs scored just 31 points in the first half as the Clippers cruised in the nationally televised contest.
The Cavs' record for fewest points in a half (23 in the second half Dec. 12, 2012, at Indianapolis) or fewest in a game (57 at LA Lakers on Jan. 11, 2011) was never in jeopardy, though it would have been fitting.
Falling to 4-6 in March after posting an NBA-best 9-2 record in February, the Cavs saw their lead over the idle Boston Celtics trimmed to 1/12 games.
The Cavs could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory and a loss by the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State. That will come soon enough. Lue is focused on his players' health and getting his starters time together.
The first game this season the Cavs threw in the towel before tip and rested everyone at Memphis in December, they scored a season-low 36 points in the first 24 minutes. Without the Big Three (with Love rehabbing) at Miami on Dec. 4, they managed just 41 points in the second half.
The Cavs hit 39 percent from the field and 5-of-27 from 3-point range.
Iman Shumpert, a surprising starter after spraining his left shoulder against the Jazz, got no rim on a mid-range jumper in the first quarter. J.R. Smith hit the backboard but no iron in the second quarter.
A large number of fans wearing Cavs jerseys might have felt like covering their eyes.
The Clippers' Chris Paul, averaging 17.7 points coming in, seemed to be swept up in the Cavs' malaise. Paul finished with five points, all at the free-throw line, going 0-of-8 from the field and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 23 points and eight rebounds.
The Cavs fell to 4-21 since the start of the 2014-15 season when James doesn't play. They are 0-6 this season and 0-9 since their last victory when James sat, that coming in March 2016 against Dallas.
Averaging 37.5 minutes per game coming in, James also rested for road games March 6 at Miami, Dec. 26 at Detroit, Dec. 14 at Memphis, Nov. 16 at Indianapolis and stayed home from a Feb. 25 game against the Chicago Bulls with strep throat.
The fan reaction to James' status was predictable. Lue was questioned in Miami about what he had to say to fans who had driven hundreds of miles to see James.
James has scored at least 20 points in 12 consecutive games at Staples Center. He has a team-high 35 double-doubles this season, one shy of his career high (2012-13) and a career single-season high 10 triple-doubles.
