NBA PRESEASON James can't find range in Cavs' loss

His preseason shooting percentage dropped to .294.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- LeBron James missed every jumper he attempted from 15 feet and beyond, further highlighting the No. 1 draft pick's biggest weakness in Cleveland's 86-78 exhibition loss Thursday night to the Los Angeles Lakers.
James had a night to forget in his first nationally televised NBA game, shooting so poorly from the outside that Lakers defender Devean George often backed a few feet off and dared him to let fly.
"I know he's athletic and he can drive. I wanted to see how well he can shoot," George said. "There's no reason for me to get real close on him and let him use his athletic ability when he hadn't hit a jump shot, so that was my strategy."
Shooting slump
The 18-year-old James, who fouled out with 37 seconds remaining, finished just 4-for-18 from the field to drop his preseason shooting percentage to .294.
Shaquille O'Neal sat out with a sore left heel, while Kobe Bryant was in the building but did not join his team on the bench. Karl Malone played his first game in front of his new home fans and led Los Angeles with 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Taunting voices from the crowd implored James to shoot the outside shot, and he jacked up at least 10 of them -- with the only one that went in a 14-footer in the second quarter. Included among his misses was an airball from 3-point range.
"I'm out there laughing because those are shots I usually make," James said. "Four or five high school games I hit more than eight 3s in a game. I've got the all-time record at St. Vincent-St. Mary's with 11 3s in a game, so it's just finding my comfort level. That's all it is."
James did have the niftiest pass of the night, catching the ball in mid-air and quickly redirecting it to Ricky Davis for a second-quarter dunk. But James also was beaten on the play that gave the Lakers the lead for good, with fellow rookie Luke Walton scoring over him in the low post and being fouled by James with 6:34 remaining.
The three-point play gave Los Angeles a 71-70 lead.
Bryant's status
Bryant might see his first preseason action tonight against the Phoenix Suns.
"I haven't ruled out tomorrow for Kobe, depending on how feels," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I think he could play five minutes, seven minutes, something like that."
After returning from Eagle, Colo., following the end of a preliminary hearing in his sexual assault case, Bryant was excused from the team's morning shootaround.
Tonight's matchup with the Suns will be the final preseason game at Staples Center, and Jackson seemed to feel it was important to get Bryant onto the court in a non-hostile environment.
"It's kind of good to get him into a public arena in a situation where there's a game-type situation against other NBA players," Jackson said.