Big Three and 'D' show out against the Pacers

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/NBAE via Getty Images)

Now this looks like the team we expected.

Coming off two straight dominant defensive performances, the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-7) made it three in a row, holding the Indiana Pacers (7-10) to 39.3 percent shooting, and defeated them by a score of 109-97.

Just when questions were being raised about Kevin Love and his involvement in the offense, he laid all of them to rest by having his best game of the season. Love scored 28 points (9-for-13 shooting), and got them in a variety of ways. He scored in the post, knocked down some mid-range jumpers, nailed two 3-pointers and even drove and scored while taking some contact. With the way that LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have played, if he can continue to show his versatility that he showed tonight, teams across the league will finally begin to fear the Cavaliers.

Speaking of James and Irving, they were also key in tonight's win. When the Cavaliers were clinging to a four-point lead after halftime despite leading by 18 at one point, James dominated the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 19 points in that period and attacking the paint in a way that many are used to seeing LeBron play. He put the exclamation point on tonight's win late in third, when he scored, got fouled and hit the free throw to give the Cavaliers a 19-point lead, their biggest of the night.

As Irving, he put together another ho hum outing. 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and plenty of highlight reel plays. During the Cavaliers 27-8 run to start the game, Irving jumped and caught a deflection, and, while still in the air, threw a perfect one-handed pass in stride to Shawn Marion, who would finish with a dunk.

Not only was his offense on point tonight, Irving's defense was just as good, as was the rest of the Cavaliers defense. Cleveland forced Indiana into some tough shots, and that was in part to Irving's shutdown of former Cavalier Donald Sloan. The Pacer's point guard was quietly having himself a nice season coming into tonight, but was held to just two points tonight on 1-of-8 shooting. Irving has said he wants to become a better defender, and nights like this are showing just how much he means by that.

Unlike the previous three-game winning streak, I think the Cavaliers are starting to find their rhythm on both sides of the ball. The communication and energy have looked vastly different form what it was just a week ago, and it will only get better. Could this be the beginning of a dominating stretch that Cavalier fans haven't seen in four years?

Three Things:

1. This is gonna be fun.

I hate to steal the phrase used from this famous Sports Illustrated cover, but that's exactly what it's going to be like every time the Cavaliers take the floor, especially now that are starting to find some chemistry. Irving made an unbelievable pass to Marion tonight, but it was LeBron's no-look pass to Irving that wowed people across the league. LeBron looked to be directing traffic on the elbow, then threw a snap pass to Irving who laid it in with the left hand. Now that Love is getting things going, will there be a more exciting team in the league? I say no. 

2. KyD Irving?

Okay, yeah, that sounds kind of dumb. But on a serious note, how good has Irving looked on defensive over the last few games? Last year, Irving was laughing stock on defense, with guys PRAYING to play him in order to get up their stats. This year? Not so much. Against the Wizards, he held John Wall to six points after he gave up 28 to him in the previous match-up. He again shut down the point guard, a big reason the Cavaliers held the Pacers to under 40 percent shooting. I'm not saying he'll ever be an elite defender, but from what he's shown this year, that's all the Cavaliers will need if they want to compete for a title.

3. Come on, bench.

The great thing about having LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love is that if all three of them are on, it's going to be hard for Cleveland to lose. Tonight was a prime example of that, as the bench again failed to provide any help that luckily the Cavaliers didn't need. The Pacers bench out-scored the Cavaliers 52-16, and almost overcame an 18-point first quarter deficit heading into halftime. Unlike the Raptors game, the starters were able to regain their large lead in the second half and cruise to a double-digit win. This has been a problem all season, and if and when the starters struggle, the bench has shown they aren't good enough to overcome that.

Statline of the night:

Kevin Love: 28 points, 11 rebounds, 9-of-13 shooting.

Love finally showed why he has been considered one of the best players in the game with his performance tonight. He scored in a multitude of ways, notched his seventh double-double of the season and most importantly, looked to be comfortable on both ends of the court. Love has been the last piece of the puzzle for the Cavaliers to get rolling, and tonight was a step in the right direction.

What's next:

Dec. 2, at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, 7:00 p.m.