Cavaliers 115, Thunder 92
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Forward Kevin Love scored 29 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Love shot 9 of 18 from the field and hauled in 11 rebounds. Forward LeBron James collected 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and guard J.R. Smith added 15 points as the Cavaliers improved to 40-14.
Forward Kevin Durant scored 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting to lead the Thunder. Guard Russell Westbrook added 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Forward Serge Ibaka scored 12 points but was held to only two points after halftime as the Thunder dropped to 40-16.
James started slowly, recording only two points in the first 10 minutes of action.
Newly acquired Thunder guard Randy Foye made his debut for Oklahoma City late in the first quarter. Even though guard Andre Roberson was activated before the game, Foye was the first guard off the bench.
The Cavs lost another starter when guard Kyrie Irving left the game early in the second quarter with flu-like symptoms. Despite that, Cleveland held a 62-53 halftime lead.
Oklahoma City fell apart in the third quarter. Its offense became stagnant and its defense allowed the Cavs to get almost any shot they wanted. A nine-point deficit became a 22-point margin by the start of the fourth quarter.
While Love and James had one of their best games as a pair. Love's ability to hit the outside shot while also diving to the basket for rebounds was too much for the Thunder big men to handle.
For the second time this season, Cleveland wore out the Thunder on the backboards with a 44-38 advantage.
The loss dropped the Thunder to 13-11 against the Eastern conference this season. That includes a season sweep by the Cavaliers.
NOTES: Oklahoma City G Russell Westbrook, on what position he would play if he played football. "When I started off playing football, I was a running back and linebacker," Westbrook said. "I liked linebacker, I liked contact. I like to hit people." ... Cleveland F Channing Frye didn't travel with the team to Oklahoma City and has yet to play or practice since being traded to the Cavaliers. ... Thunder G Dion Waiters shows he is more than just a scorer. "With Kevin (Durant), Russell (Westbrook) and Serge (Ibaka) out there, the priority for him offensively in terms of getting a lot of looks or having to rely on scoring, is not necessarily a need," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I've said this about Dion since day one, there is a lot more to Dion. He's a great defender with really, really good vision. I think there's a lot of things he can do." ... Cleveland F Iman Shumpert sat out Sunday's game with a sprained left shoulder. Coach Tyronn Lue said it was just precautionary.