The Cavaliers may not be at full strength yet, but they gave a good preview Monday night of what could be coming.
Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith had big offensive games, lifting the burden on LeBron James and helping the Cavs come up with an impressive 122-100 win over the Raptors.
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Irving scored a game-high 25 points in what was easily his best game since coming back from a fractured left kneecap suffered in the NBA Finals. He made 10 of his 19 field-goal attempts and also added six rebounds and eight assists as the Cavs put some distance between themselves and the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 team. Irving scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games.
"(We) wanted to kind of make a statement, not only for ourselves, but for the rest of the league. It was a big-time game," Irving told NBA TV after the game. "These are the games you’ve got to get up for."
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Smith had a breakout offensive game as well, scoring 24 points, all on 3-pointers. He was 8 for 14 from behind the arc.
That backcourt production allowed James to take on the facilitator role he relishes. He finished with 20 points, seven assists and three steals in 31 minutes. James didn't play in the fourth quarter.
It was the kind of game that showed just how formidable the defending East champs can be when they are firing on all cylinders.
"I told (Irving), it’s good to have you back and looking at full strength. You felt like he was himself," Cavs coach David Blatt told reporters after the game. "He looked like the old Kyrie."
That’s good news for Cleveland, bad news for the rest of the East.
"I don’t expect to see this every night this early," Blatt said," but it sure was nice to see."