Cavaliers outlast Nuggets, stop two-game skid

DENVER – On the Cleveland Cavaliers' third possession of the game against the Denver Nuggets Friday, the ball made it from one side of the court to the other and back to the other side of the court.

The ball ended up in Kevin Love's hands at the top of the three-point line. Kyrie Irving cut to the basket, Love threw him the ball, and Irving quickly dished the ball to Anderson Varejao for an easy layup.

Ball movement and player movement preceded the basket, and with that pass, Irving recorded his first assist after going the six previous quarters with zero assists.

Cleveland found its best offensive flow of the season and ended a two-game losing streak with a 110-101 victory over the Nuggets. If ball movement and player movement were focal points for the Cavaliers, consider the effort a success after a week of heavy criticism.

The 2-3 Cavaliers had seven assists on their first eight baskets against Denver, after recording just six assists on 30 baskets in Wednesday's loss to the Utah Jazz. LeBron James, who played a lot at point guard, had six assists in the first quarter.

Cleveland, which entered the game last in assists per game, had 25 assists on 40 baskets, and seven players scored in double figures, led by James who had 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

"The ball was poppin' around," James said. "You move the ball early. You get guys feeling the ball, touching the ball and everyone feels comfortable, the result is having seven guys in double figures. That's huge for our team."

For sure, the Cavs got the right team on the right night – the struggling Nuggets, who have now lost four consecutive games. But before the game Cavs coach David Blatt said, "I'd like to see us be able to move the ball better, move the ball from side-to-side to create situations from non-static positions."

Blatt got that, specifically in the opening quarter when Cleveland made a dedicated effort to run the offense on multiple possessions.

"Obviously when you have seven guys score in double figures, you know you're moving the ball and playing together and playing the right way," Blatt said.

He said it's the most sustained commitment to running his offense as he has seen through five games.

"No. 1, we're going to get better as we begin to use our offense more properly and as we begin to recognize the benefit of not holding the ball and not playing simply for isolations and for specific situations," Blatt said. "There's a time for equal opportunity offense and there's a time for target-player offense. For the most part overall, we did a pretty good job managing those times properly."

He was not thrilled the Cavs allowed 100 points in regulation for the third consecutive games. "We're not going to win consistently with that," he said.

But there is so much focus on Cleveland's offense and how the parts work as one. On Friday, Blatt's European-style offense was more visible than it was in four previous games. Better ball movement, especially side-to-side, better player movement and plenty of action on and off the ball led to better shots.

"It's not that we don't have willing passers," Irving said. "We definitely have willing passers. For us, it's just finding the offense that works for us and hitting the shooter when they're hot and just trying to make it work."

It was the best all-around game for Cleveland – its frontcourt and backcourt combined. Love had 19 points and eight rebounds, Anderson Varejao had 15 points and seven rebounds and Tristan Thompson had 12 points and five rebounds.

The guard play – a key area of focus, if not concern – improved, too. Irving had 12 points and six assists, and Dion Waiters had 17 points. Irving grasped the point of Blatt's offensive philosophy much better than Waiters, who took 14 shots in 24 minutes.

What Waiters possibly – maybe – will realize is he will get his shots in the flow of the offense. He doesn't need to get them up all at once. He is talented, and Blatt had Waiters on the court down the stretch. Waiters responded, scoring consecutive baskets after Denver cut Cleveland's lead to 98-92.

"When the ball is moving, it's just the karma of the game. Guys make shots," James said, a theory he wants Waiters to put into practice in a game.

The Cavaliers have preached patience, and James reiterated that message on Friday.

"It's just a message for everyone to understand how important the process is," James said. "Everyone wants overnight success. It just doesn't happen in team sports when teams first come together."

Irving repeated James' message.

"It's a learning process," Irving said. "I'm just glad we have the kind of guys on this team who are willing to learn, including myself and we're willing to grow every single day. I've never been on a closer team thus far in my career. I'm just happy it's with these guys that we're going through this process."