Cavaliers shake off poor start, roll Nets 117-92
CLEVELAND (AP) - J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov scored 17 points apiece, Kyrie Irving had 10 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers shook off a slow start to win their 14th straight home game, 117-92 over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
LeBron James added 16 points for the Cavs, who had seven players score in double figures. Cleveland trailed by 13 in the first quarter before going on a 30-8 run and didn't look back.
The Cavs are 25-6 since Jan. 15, when they were 19-20 and being questioned about whether they were NBA title contenders. Well, Cleveland is an entirely different team these days with balance, inside muscle and a healthy James, who battled knee and back issues earlier this season.
Kevin Love returned after a two-game break to rest his back and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Deron Williams scored 20 to lead the Nets, who are running out of games as they claw to get into the playoffs.
New Jersey led 22-9 in the first quarter before the Cavs started making shots. Smith made four 3-pointers and scored 14 in the second quarter, when the Cavs snapped out of a funk they brought back from a road trip and outscored the Nets 36-21.
Leading by 12 at the half, the Cavs looked underneath in the third quarter and the 7-foot-1 Mozgov took over, scoring 12 points in the period to help Cleveland extend its advantage to 23.
The large lead allowed coach David Blatt to rest his starters, including James, who sat out the final 5:04. Blatt intends to closely monitor his players' minutes down the stretch.
Cleveland made 7 of 9 3-pointers in the second quarter, enabling the Cavs to turn the early deficit into a 12-point halftime lead.
James was content to act as playmaker during the comeback as he picked up an assist on each of Smith's four 3s. James got into the scoring act when he drained a 3, and added a dunk after Smith stopped a New Jersey breakaway by poking the ball away from an unsuspecting Brook Lopez.
Back from a four-game trip, the Cavs, who played lethargically and poorly in a loss at Miami on Monday, were awful in the opening minutes.
They had six quick turnovers and were in a 22-9 hole before waking up. Cleveland cut New Jersey's lead to 26-23 after one and then opened the second quarter with a 22-7 run - highlighted by Smith's deep barrage - on the way to a 59-47 halftime lead.
TIP-INS
Nets: The Nets' next four games are against teams battling to reach the playoffs. New Jersey will play Milwaukee, Indiana, Boston and Charlotte in the next seven days. ... Entering Wednesday, Brooklyn was the only team in the league with a better road record than home record (Chicago and Miami had identical road and home marks). ... Johnson has made at least one field goal in 868 consecutive games, the league's longest active streak. San Antonio's Tim Duncan holds the record (1,310).
Cavaliers: Blatt feels the Cavs have slipped some defensively over the past few weeks. They're ranked just 25th since March 1. "We want to get back to where we were before," he said. ... James has not filled in an NCAA Tournament bracket and he probably won't complete one. But if he did, prohibitive favorite Kentucky would likely be his choice to win it. That doesn't mean the Wildcats are invincible, though. "In the tournament, you get one team to slow the game down or a team is on fire, you never know," said James, who had high praise for UK coach John Calipari. "He's a great players' coach."
UP NEXT
Nets: Host Milwaukee on Friday.
Cavaliers: Host Indiana on Friday.