Fansided

Cavaliers deliver beatdown, defeat Hornets by 39 points

By Trisity Miller

Jan 23, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends against Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo (8) during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends against Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo (8) during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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In their 5th straight win, the Cavaliers embarrassed the Hornets, beating them by 39 points.

I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are starting to look like the team we all expected to see coming into the 2014-15 season and the Charlotte Hornets are the latest team to feel their wrath after a nearly-50 point beatdown at the Q Arena.

This game was never close.

From the opening tip, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 28-9 lead by the 2:33 mark and it was an All-Star showcase from there on out.

By half-time, the Cavaliers were surpassed the 75 point mark and at the start of the fourth quarter, Cleveland had ventured into 100-point territory.

Leading the Cavaliers in victory over the Hornets was superstar LeBron James, recently voted as All-Star starter) who’s starting to look more like his older self, delivering 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in 26 minutes, including this fantastic throw-down on a half-court alley-oop delivered from J.R. Smith.

Speaking of J.R. Smith, the former New York Knicks guard has continued his excellent play, scoring all 21 of his points from behind the arch (7-of-11). Kyrie Irving also played well with 18 points and 4 rebounds.

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On the other side, the Hornets were led by big-man Al Jefferson with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Guards Lance Stephenson and Kemba Walker combined for 18 points on 8-of-24 shooting.

What we saw tonight is what we envisioned when LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love teamed up over the summer — unfortunately, a rough first-few months coupled with injury and disappointment was our first taste of the new-look Cavaliers. With Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert (scored 8 points in Cavaliers debut) in the picture thanks a few trades, the Cavaliers are starting to look like a team that could contend for a championship come June. They were overwhelming on offense and good enough on defense to sustain a late-game rush from the Hornets (though the Hornets aren’t a top offensive team, holding them to 40% shooting is impressive).

With this win over the Hornets, the Cavaliers are now winners of five straight and have re-gained ownership of the fifth seed in the East — they’re now 4 games behind the Bulls for fourth.

Next up for the Cavaliers? The Oklahoma City Thunder — if the Cavaliers keep playing like this, we’ll be in for a treat as several of the league’s best players will be pitted against each other.

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