Kyrie Irving has talked for weeks about shaking off the rust since his return from a long injury layoff, but the Cavaliers guard moved like a well-oiled machine in Cleveland's 122-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Irving scored a season-high 25 points while adding eight assists and six rebounds, and forward LeBron James had 20 points and seven assists while sitting out the fourth quarter on a night when all five Cavs starters scored in double figures.
Guard Kyle Lowry had 23 points and 10 assists, and guard DeMar DeRozan had 19 points for the Raptors, who twice rallied from big deficits, before the Cavs (23-9) pulled away for good in the last quarter to register a fourth consecutive victory.
"They play as hard and as together as anyone in the league, except for San Antonio," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "If you don't bring your 'A' game against them, you're going to be embarrassed."
The Raptors (21-15) were far from being embarrassed but they could not keep pace in the fourth quarter. They went scoreless for more than four minutes, allowing Cleveland to turn a seven-point game into a blowout.
A jumper from backup center Timofey Mozgov extended the Cavs' lead to 108-87 with 6:13 left, the first 20-point lead of the game.
The Raptors rallied from 13 down in the first half to take a brief lead in the second quarter. They also tied the game at 69-69 in the third on a three-pointer from James Johnson, who was starting at forward in place of DeMarre Carroll (knee).
However, James' three-pointer to close the third pushed the lead back to 90-78 and the Cavs were never threatened again.
Guard JR Smith made a season-high eight three-pointers to score 24, while forward Kevin Love had 14 points and nine rebounds, and center Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who improved to 15-1 at home.
The Raptors beat the Cavs at Toronto in late November when Cleveland was missing half of its rotation. Things changed dramatically, in large part to Irving, who continues to work his way back from offseason knee surgery.
Irving shot just 29% in his first three games back from a fractured kneecap but has shot 48% in his past three. He scored at least 20 points in two of his past three games and his eight assists were also a season high.
Thompson ignites Warriors
Klay Thompson poured in two key hoops to ignite a third-quarter surge to help the Golden State Warriors outlast the Charlotte Hornets 111-101.
Power forward Draymond Green recorded his seventh triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as Golden State (32-2) ran its home winning streak to 35, including 17 this season.
Seeking to avoid getting swept in the two-game season series for the second year in a row, the Hornets (17-17) got to within 66-65 in the fourth minute of the third quarter after an 11-4 run to open the second half.
But Thompson countered immediately with 16- and 28-footers, the latter a three-pointer, to trigger an 18-4 burst that put the Warriors in command for good.
Cousins leads Kings past Thunder
DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 33 points to lead Sacramento past Oklahoma City.
Cousins shot 11-of-27 from the field to go along with 19 rebounds. Marco Belinelli came off the bench to score 21 points.
Serge Ibaka led the Thunder, who played without Kevin Durant, with 25 points and seven rebounds. Forward Anthony Morrow added 20 points while guard Russell Westbrook compiled 17 points and 15 assists.
Kiwi Steven Adams had 15 points and ten rebounds to go with two assists.
Bosh, Wade big in Heat OT win
Chris Bosh scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade added 27 points to lead the Miami to the overtime win.
Indiana lost despite getting 32 points from Paul George. Miami won its third consecutive game.
The Pacers blew an 18-point, third-quarter lead. The Heat took their first lead with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter on a technical free throw by Bosh.
Sixers win again
Ish Smith had 21 points and 11 assists as Philadelphia earned its third victory in six games since its 1-30 start.
Smith, whose acquisition from New Orleans triggered Philadelphia's turnaround, notched eight of his points in the final 4:38, when the Sixers salted the game away.
Reserves Richaun Holmes and Carl Landry had 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Sixers. They combined for 12 in the fourth quarter.
