CHICAGO — The boos rumbled through United Center when LeBron James was introduced on Sunday afternoon. They reverberated again whenever he sized up a defender or backed him down, whenever he dribbled the ball up the court or held it for longer than a split second.
During a stoppage of play halfway through the second quarter, when James jogged across the court to retrieve the ball for a referee, he was booed. Late in the third, when he rolled over his left ankle, spent several seconds sprawled on the floor, and then finally arose, he was booed.