Now that's more like it. Last week the Cavaliers were embarrassed by the Wizards, being dominated from the onset before losing by 8. Tonight, a different story as the Wine and Gold took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and barely broke a sweat, coasting to a 98-86 win, their 38th in 39 games at The Q.
The win put the Cavaliers on the cusp of clinching home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. The next Cavs' win or Celtic loss will finish the job.
It was easy to see, right from the start, that the Cavaliers had no desire to allow Washington to think they had a chance on the Cavaliers home court. Cleveland never trailed and dominated the first quarter behind even scoring and solid defense. As healthy as they have been all season, the Cavaliers welcomed Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace back to the rotation and the results were instantaneous.
Varejao scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 25 minutes, while Wallace came off the bench to chip in 7 points and 6 rebounds. Both will be a big part of what the Cavaliers need to do in the playoffs, especially on defense.
LeBron James did what he does, lead the team in scoring with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. The MVP-campaign is in high gear the LeBron did little to disappoint. Mo Williams(14 points), Delonte West(13 points) and Daniel Gibson rounded out the scoring for Cleveland, one of their most steady, consistent offensive performances of the season.
It was short on excitement or drama, but it was just what a team with 62 wins should do to a team with 18 wins.
Up next for Cleveland is a trip to playoff-bound Philadelphia on Friday night.
GO CAVS!