The Brooklyn Nets (9-37) seemed to do everything in their power to help the Cavs get out of an eight-game funk, as Brook Lopez rested and Trevor Booker was out due to illness.
That being said, the Nets held their own for two quarters, but the Cavs (31-14) took care of business to end a three-game losing streak, and bounce back with a 124-116 win after losing six of their last eight.
Cleveland stepped on the gas pedal in the second half, outscoring Brooklyn 41-26 in the third quarter, a period which removed all doubt. Kyrie Irving erupted for 20 of his 28 points the third.
.@KyrieIrving wows @TheRealJRSmith with a drive & finish off high glass: "That kid is amazing."
STREAM #CavsNets: https://t.co/4Deh4ng8iQ pic.twitter.com/f33eTle4qO
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) January 28, 2017
With Booker and Lopez out, Kevin Love took advantage of some mismatches to put up an impressive performance, posting his 28th double-double in 40 games.
The newly named All-Star Reserve scored 13 points and grabbed 14 boards.
LeBron James was in a groove early on, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half.
He went on to finish with 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting, passing for 11 assists in 34 minutes.
It was a much-needed blowout victory, reminding the NBA world that when the Cavs are clicking, they are capable of blowouts like this against most teams, although it didn’t hurt to see the Nets on the schedule.
It also gave Irving and James a relatively light workload, compared to recent weeks in which the duo has exceeeded 40 minutes on multiple occasions.
.@cavs have had a tough month, but @KingJames believes it could help in the long run: "I'm happy that we're going through this right now." pic.twitter.com/EfMfNigKSG
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) January 28, 2017
"That's one win. We gotta continue to keep building on this one." #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/jFHU8ZUPht
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 28, 2017
The Cavs are back in action at home on Sunday afternoon, hosting Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-19).
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