LeBron James
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost even with LeBron James back in the starting lineup. He is pictured on Oct. 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. Getty Images

LeBron James and his new-look Cleveland Cavaliers, along with added veterans Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, failed to impress in a 108-94 loss to a young Chicago Bulls team at the Quicken Loans Arena in Ohio.

James, who missed the first three games of the preseason with a sprained left ankle, made his debut in the 108-94 loss against the Bulls Tuesday night and pushed their record to 0-4.

The Cavs All-Star contributed 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block after 30 minutes in his first exhibition game with his new teammates. James also committed eight turnovers, seven in the first half (his career high is 10 turnovers) and shot 8-13 from the field, while his teammate Wade shot just 1-7 from the field.

"Well, me personally, tonight I was off," James told reporters after the game. "I could feel it. It's just my first action since the Finals and my timing was a little off and turnovers I think just trickled down to everybody, so I made everyone's timing off."

The 32-year-old struggled to get back to his usual dominant self after missing nearly two weeks of basketball. James also returned to a whole new cast of teammates and a completely new starting lineup, compared to the one that got him to the NBA Finals three years in a row.

The Bulls seemed like the more cohesive unit, led by young guard Justin Holiday with 28 points. After a rough start, Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen caught fire in the second half with 18 points off the bench.

James slightly twisted the same injured ankle going after a loose ball in the third quarter but resumed play after walking it off.

"I'm pushing through it right now," James said. "I just wanted to try and test my foot, test my ankle to see how I would come out tonight. So, obviously tonight and tomorrow morning it's going to be a telltale sign of how I came out tonight."

"I'm still fresh from the game so it's OK now but you never know when you wake up the next morning how it can flare up or if it can stiffen on you," he added. "So, I'll know more about it tomorrow but I definitely wanted to test it tonight knowing that at least if I tested it tonight I have a week until the regular season started if I don't play in the game on Friday."

With James hampered by his ankle injury, the Cavaliers also struggled to jell. Teammates could be seen pointing at each other between plays in an attempt to add direction to the offense.

Cavs All-Star big man Kevin Love also fought to find consistency, missing his first nine shots as he finished with just three points on 1-of-12 shooting from the field. He left the game after he tweaked his left leg midway through the third quarter and did not return.

One bright spot for the Cavaliers was the play of newly acquired guard Derrick Rose, who signed a one-year deal at the veteran minimum of $2.1 million during the offseason. Rose was 5 of 9 from the field including 1 of 2 from the 3-point line, totaling 13 points, 5 assists and 5 boards.

"My 3-ball is looking nice right now," Rose told reporters after the game. "Whatever the game tell me to do, that's what I'm going to do. If they want me to sit in the corner, sit somewhere and just sit up and shoot."

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