Final Score: Cavaliers beat Hornets behind dominant LeBron James 116-105

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their winning ways Saturday night as they cruised pat the Charlotte Hornets 116-105. The win is the second in as many night for the Cavaliers and brings their current winnings streak to four games. Perhaps the most important thing from this game from the Cavaliers perspective was that popular swing man JR Smith returned to the starting lineup after missing recent games with a knee injury.

The Hornets have been playing well this season and currently lead the Southeastern division, but despite Charlotte’s improved play this game illustrated just how far they have to go to truly contend in the East. LeBron James dominated the game tallying an impressive 44-10-9, which was needed as Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving had relative off nights. Overall it was a strong team outing on the second night of a back-to-back against a good team, but a few performances stood out from the rest.

Iman Shumpert once again had a fantastic game. The former Georgia Tech guard has been surprisingly effective shooting the three this season and Shumpert was 3-4 from behind the arc tonight. Shumpert’s improved play on the offensive end of the court has been a huge boon the team and Tyronn Lue and company have to be hoping it can continue.

DeAndre Liggins continued his recent stretch of providing the team with playable bench minutes. Liggins struggled on the offensive end of the court, but his wing defense is sorely needed and he is likely to continue to see minutes so long as he can defend at a high level. It remains to be seen if Liggins can keep this play up, but he has earned the opportunity to see time on the court.

The Cavaliers now have two days of rest before they take on the Memphis Grizzlies this Tuesday at Quicken Loans Arena.