Cavs Continue Winning Ways

(Photo from: ftw.usatoday.com)

It was a complete team effort by the Cavaliers which saw them cruise to a 110-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on the road.

With the royal couple watching sideline and Lebron James calling it a "huge honor" to play before the royal couple, signs were pointing to a king size performance from one King James but the Cavs didn't need it.

After going into the half only up one, the Cavs would turn it on in the third quarter outscoring the Nets by 17 and remaining in control from that point on.

The Cavs as a team got off to a slow start in the Barclays Center. Lebron and Kevin Love were the only two to score for the Cavs in the first period. Kevin Love carried most of the load, scoring 15 of the 22 points the Cavs would end up with at the end of the period.

Anderson Varejao would end up as the lone Cavs starter with a field goal in the second quarter. While this would usually be problematic for the Cavs most nights, tonight was different. Led by Dion Waiters' 13 points, the Cavs bench would end up scoring 26 points in the quarter, beating their season average. James Jones was a marksman from downtown, connecting on all three of his three-point attempts in the quarter, and hitting four of five for the game.

Three Things
1. Good Dion
For Cavs fans, Dion Waiters serves as one of the most polarizing players on the teams. The talent has always been there for Waiters, the patience, poise, and level-headness it takes to be a consistent player in the league is not always there. Tonight, he put all those things together and was the best player on the court.

2. James Jones
The veteran came in for the second game in a row making it rain from downtown. For the season he is 8-for-12 from deep making the loss of Mike Miller who has only connected on five threes out of 20 for year, a little bit easier to swallow.

3. Welcome back Delly
Monday night saw the the return of Matthew Dellavedova back into the lineup. While he only scored two points tonight, anybody who watches the Cavs know that his real impact can't be found in the box score. Always proving toughness and playing his heart out, his return gives coach Blatt another permitter option to close the game and allows Dion Waiters to focus solely on scoring when the second unit comes in the game.

Statline of the night:
Dion Waiters: 26 points, 4 assists, 2 steals

Dion stole the show Monday and was in a grove all night. This was the Dion, Lebron envisioned when he said that Dion would be best suited for the team coming off the bench. If Dion can serve as a Jamal Crawford type off the bench, look out!

What's next:
Dec. 9 against the Toronto Raptors in the Q

Tristan's big homecoming game gives Cavs their sixth straight

(Photo by Dave Sandford/NBAE via Getty Images)

In a season themed by homecoming, it was Tristan Thompson who showed up big in his hometown of Toronto, scoring 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers victory over the Toronto Raptors, 105-91.

Thompson, a Toronto native, played big when the Cavaliers needed it most. With the Raptors trying to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, it was Thompson and LeBron James whom worked the two-man game. The biggest play between the two was when the Cavaliers were clinging to an 8-point lead with just over four minutes left in the game. James, who had been controlling the point guard duties. James drove right, warranted a double-team and then threw a lob to Thompson, who would finish with a slam and the exclamation on the Cavaliers night.

Tonight's win gave the Cavaliers their sixth straight, but more importantly, it showed that Cleveland does in fact have a bench that's alive. After being out-scored by the Raptors 51-19 in their last meeting, it was the Cavaliers who get the better of the benches, out-scoring Toronto's bench 33-25. James Jones, who played in his fourth game of the season tonight, had eight points, all coming in the second quarter. Those were some big points though, as they helped eliminate a Toronto comeback that haunted the Cavaliers in their first match-up.

Oh, and let's not forget about LeBron. 24 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds was as classical of a LeBron performance as you will find. But it was not his stat-line that was LeBron-esque, it was the way he finished the game. He kept his teammates involved and scored when he needed to, a big reason the Cavaliers were able to out-score the Raptors 54-47 in the second half.

Six straight victories match their longest since LeBron last graced a Cavalier uniform. With the team rolling, how many games can they extend it to? A tough road lies ahead, but if they can escape from this upcoming stretch unscathed, a dominate hot streak could be in the making.

Three Things:

1. Hello defense my old friend.

Would you look at? The Cavaliers not only held a top-tiered defense to 91 points and 40 percent shooting, but did it in their own building. We've raved and raved and raved about the improvements of the Cavaliers defense, and tonight was a great sign of that, especially from LeBron, who nabbed four steals and held Terrance Ross and James Johnson to a combined 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. For the (enter number)th time this season, we'll say how good the offense is and how good the defense needs to be for the Cavaliers to be contenders. Tonight could be our first glimpse of what a peak Cavaliers team could, considering how well the defense played.

2. Welcome to the rotation, Mr. Jones.

Including tonight, Jones has played in four games this season, but tonight was different from those first three games. Filling in for Mike Miller, who was diagnosed with a concussion after last night's game against the New York Knicks, James hit two 3-pointers and finished plus-two when he was on the court. For a team desperately looking for guys to contribute off the bench, any performance like tonight will help your cause. But more than that, LeBron has vouched for a guy like Miller to get more minutes, meaning we might see him express the same thought about Jones.

3. LeBron is the best point guard in the league.

For the third straight game, and the fifth time in seven games, James had 10 assists. It doesn't matter what his height is or what his listed position is for All-Star balloting, he is a point guard, through and through. His vision is second to none and makes passes only he can make. For example, when he was on a two-on-one fast break with Thompson, James whipped a perfect no-look pass after fumbling the outlet, with Thompson finishing with a dunk. Although Kyrie is considered the point guard, the best decision head coach David Blatt made so far this season was when he put the ball in LeBron's hand to run the offense.

Statline of the night:

Tristan Thompson: 21 points, 15 rebounds (9 offensive), 2 assists, 8-of-13 shooting.

It's pretty obvious the Cavaliers don't win this game without Thompson, but it's more than just the stats that show that. Thompson's (surprise) ability to finish around the rim allowed LeBron and Kyrie to get to paint and either score or dish it off to Thompson.

What's next:

Dec. 8, on the road against the Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.