Cavaliers-Nuggets: Z Starts Fast, LeBron Finshes Strong in 105-88 Win

Friday night in the Pepsi Center, the Cleveland Cavaliers squared off against the Denver Nuggets. Cleveland is part of the first trio in NBA history to begin a season with 21 wins in its first 25 games, joining the Celtics and the Lakers.

The Cavaliers are one of the most improved teams in the NBA compared to last season.

Offensively, the team is second in the league in field goal percentage. Also, Cleveland has improved its efficiency at the free throw line, converting nearly 78 percent this season compared to just 71 percent last season.

Defensively, the team is first in the league in points allowed, giving up just 89.2 points per game. Cleveland is also second in the NBA in field goal percentage defense and points created from turnovers.

Together, their success on both ends of the floor gives Cleveland the highest point differential in the NBA this season. In addition, their improvement has led to a 21-4 mark, the best in franchise history.

In the first six minutes of the first quarter, Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting and 4-for-4 from the foul line. He also assisted on two Cavalier field goals and pulled down three rebounds before being substituted for.

At one point in the opening period, Cleveland made 10 consecutive shots from the floor. When Wally Szczerbiak missed a jump shot that ended the streak, the Cavaliers led Denver, 24-14.

Cleveland finished the first quarter with a season-high 37 points, punctuated by a three-point play by LeBron James. The Cavaliers held a 16-point advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter.

The Cavaliers were impressive in the opening 15 game minutes. The Nuggets improved considerably after it acquired Chauncey Billups from Detroit. Since the trade, Denver is 16-5 with Billups in the lineup. The Nuggets are currently third in the Western Conference.

Cleveland's record indicated it should beat Denver. Nevertheless, the Cavaliers dominated a very good team on the road. Cleveland led 52-32 with 7:05 remaining in the first half. The Cavaliers shut down Denver, and they executed well offensively with James on the bench.

Denver's bench contributed nicely for the Nuggets early in the second quarter. And not until late in the same period did Denver avoid being blown out in the first half.

Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony struggled throughout the game, as evidenced by coach George Karl's decision to sit Anthony from the two-minute mark in the first quarter until seven minutes remained in the second quarter.

Towards the end of the first half, Cleveland was comfortably ahead, but Denver trailed by a margin that was close enough to make a run at the lead before the end of the half and enough to come back if things went its way.

Denver gained the momentum it needed to make such a comeback when in the closing seconds, LeBron James committed an offensive foul, and then Anthony Carter nailed a three-pointer. The Nuggets trailed 64-53 at halftime.

A comeback effort never evolved, however, as Cleveland stifled every Nugget comeback attempt in the second half.

Though most of the third quarter saw back-and-forth scoring, the Cavaliers extended their lead to 19 at the end of the third quarter. For Cleveland, starters James, Ilgauskas, and Delonte West totalled 22, 18, and 20 points at the end of the third quarter, respectively.

The balanced scoring attack from this trio maintained a lead for the team throughout the night when they were needed.

Another contributor to the Cavalier win was its defense. Throughout the night, Cleveland forced Denver to spend a lot of time combatting defenders around the perimeter before attempting to operate its offensive sets. This pressure made Denver settle for many outside shots, which led to few second-chance opportunities as well.

Cleveland was without sixth-man Daniel Gibson again this game. The team has been without the third-year guard for nearly two weeks. Gibson leads the Cavaliers' bench in minutes played and scoring.

With 5:02 left in the game, Anthony fouled out to punctuate a subpar night. The Nuggets forward was held to 13 points and two rebounds, committing five turnovers in the game as well.

Cleveland closed the game soundly in the final minutes. The final score was 105-88 in favor of the visiting Cavaliers.

James led Cleveland in scoring with 33 points, including 11 in the final period, and he was followed by Ilgauskas with 23 and West with 22. James earned team-highs 10 rebounds and eight assists but was pressured into six turnovers and recorded zero steals.

With the win, the Cavaliers improved their record to 22-4, which is still good for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Next for Cleveland on the schedule is at Oklahoma City on Sunday. Then, it hosts Houston on Tuesday and Washington on Christmas Day. The latter can be seen on TNT at 8 p.m. EST.