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Cavs get back on track with win over Nuggets

Nov 8, 2014 - 7:29 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James scored 22 points with 11 assists and seven rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers snap a two-game losing streak with a 110-101 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Kevin Love went for 19 points and eight boards, Anderson Varejao supplied 15 points and Kyrie Irving netted 12 points with six assists for the Cavs, who had seven players in double figures.

Randy Foye poured in a game-high 28 points off the bench for Denver, which has lost four straight. Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson each deposited 14 points in the setback.

"I think the defense, the way we came out defensively, we sustained it," James said. "For the most part, we were in tune. We were locked in."

The Cavs came out with a vengeance on Friday night after reports surfaced that there was a locker-room talk between some players following a last-second loss to Utah their last time out.

Robinson opened the scoring with a jumper, then Cleveland embarked on a 23-5 run. James assisted on four baskets during the surge, two of which came on Shawn Marion's successive 3-pointer and layup, before he capped the spurt with a pair of free throws.

"Coming in and pretty much giving the team an 18-point lead in the first quarter is tough," Robinson said.

Just over a minute later, James lofted an accurate alley-oop pass to Tristan Thompson from halfcourt.

The quarter ended with Cleveland scoring the last six points, but the final two came the hard way, as Dion Waiters converted 2-of-4 free throws after Darrell Arthur was thrown out of the game for a flagrant-2 foul.

Waiters, who had 17 points off the bench, drove the lane in the closing seconds and Arthur pushed him to the floor instead of making an attempt on the play. After Waiters shook off the hard hit, he helped the visitors to a 38-20 lead entering the second.

In that loss to the Jazz on Wednesday, the Cavs managed to only dish out six assists. On Friday, James had eight of his team's 16 first-half assists en route to a 58-45 lead at the break.

Cleveland was on cruise control in the third before Foye buried back-to-back 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 85-71 after three.

Denver continued to chip away at the margin, as Chandler netted a pair of free throws prior to his bank shot that made it a six-point game with 4 1/2 minutes left.

That's as close it would get, however.

Waiters stole the ball from Chandler on the Nuggets' next touch and finished at the other end with a dunk. Another turnover by Denver led to another basket from Waiters as the visitors built their lead back to 10 with three minutes left.

Game Notes

Denver point guard Ty Lawson was a late scratch with a lingering left ankle injury ... Thompson and Marion finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively ... Cleveland scored 20 points off 13 turnovers ... The Cavs held a 56-46 advantage in the paint ... Foye went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.