Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James works against Charlotte Hornets guard Gerald HendersonKen Blaze
LeBron James and Kevin Love were at the top of their game Monday night.
That's bad news for any opponent, which the Charlotte Hornets discovered in Cleveland's 97-88 win.
James scored 27 points with 13 assists while Love added 22 points and 18 rebounds in a game highlighted by big runs from both teams.
The Cavaliers jumped to a 21-0 lead, but the Hornets regrouped and got within two points early in the third quarter before Cleveland pulled away.
In information provided by the Cavaliers from Elias Sports Bureau, the 21-0 lead to start a game is the largest to start a game since Portland scored the first 22 points against Boston in 2004.
"Being 21 down against an elite team on their floor is tough to overcome," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We played a good enough offensive game to win against a terrific team, but our first-quarter defence was obviously poor."
Charlotte got the lead into single digits in the second quarter and trailed 59-57 early in the third, but Cleveland ended the third on a 21-9 run.
"We had a lull in the second quarter and in the third quarter, which really allowed them to get back in the game, but we sustained the effort for close to 48 minutes," James said.
While James displayed his noted passing ability, he was the recipient of two length-of-the-court passes from Love for dunks that brought the crowd to its feet.
The plays brought back memories of James' high school days when he played football.
"It's a unique gift that he has that not too many guys in our league have," James said. "He can go over the head, two-handed. Me, being a wide receiver in my day, I can go 'em also."
Kyrie Irving scored 16 points for the Cavaliers, who were coming off consecutive road losses to Oklahoma City and New Orleans after winning eight in a row.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 24 points. Al Jefferson added 14 for the Hornets, who are 1-10 away from home – the worst road record in the NBA. Charlotte has lost three straight and 13 of 15.
Charlotte centre Cody Zeller left the game late in the fourth quarter after hitting his head on the floor while scrambling for a loose ball with Anderson Varejao.
The Hornets called the injury a nasal contusion and Zeller had a large bump at the top of his nose. He will be examined Tuesday.
"Varejao went in on me and I fell," he said. "My face and my nose hit the floor. Then he landed on top of me."
Cleveland, which began a five-game homestand, has won six straight at Quicken Loans Arena.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist replaced Gerald Henderson in the starting lineup for Charlotte, but scored one point in 21 minutes. Kidd-Gilchrist came off the bench in the last three games after returning from a stress reaction in his right foot.
James also got a postgame visit in the locker room from billionaire Warren Buffett, who attended the game with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Buffett, wearing a Cavaliers jersey with James' No. 23, chatted with the four-time MVP for a few minutes.
CELTICS 105, 76ERS 87
PHILADELPHIA – Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points, leading the Celtics to a victory over Philadelphia.
Avery Bradley had 15 points, and Brandon Bass and Jeff Green added 14 apiece for Boston (8-14), which snapped a three-game skid.
Rookie Nerlens Noel had a career-high 19 points for the 76ers (2-22), who dropped to 0-13 at home this season. Philadelphia moved closer to the NBA mark for worst home start to a season, set in the 1993-94 season when the Mavericks began 0-19.
PACERS 110, LAKERS 91
INDIANAPOLIS – Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Indiana over the Lakers 110-91.
Los Angeles shot 33 per cent from the floor and trailed by 39 points during the game.
CJ Miles scored 20, David West and C.J. Watson each scored 12, and Donald Sloan scored 17 points for Indiana. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring with 21 points, shooting 8 of 26 from the floor.
Nick Young scored 18 points and Carlos Boozer recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers bench outscored the Lakers bench 52-46.
HAWKS 93, BULLS 86
ATLANTA – Al Horford scored 21 points, including a huge jumper with just under a minute remaining, and the streaking Hawks won for the 10th time in 11 games with a victory over the Bulls.
The Hawks led most of the way, but never by more than 10 points. After Taj Gibson's dunk with 1:13 remaining brought the Bulls to 87-84, Horford got loose for a 19-footer on the wing and knocked it down.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 22 points. The Bulls had won six straight over the Hawks.
SPURS 99, NUGGETS 91
DENVER – Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points and the San Antonio beat the banged-up Denver Nuggets 99-91 on Sunday night.
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili added 15 points apiece for the Spurs, who bounced back from Friday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers despite the absence of Tony Parker, who was out with an injured hamstring.
Arron Afflalo had a season-high 31 points to lead the Nuggets, who have lost six of their last seven games.
J.J. Hickson started in place of injured Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson left the game with 3:02 remaining in the second quarter after a collision with Ginobili opened a cut above his left eye. The cut was bandaged and he returned early in the third quarter.
Down by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Nuggets pulled to 79-74 on a baseline jumper by Afflalo with 5:42 remaining.
The teams were trading baskets until Ginobili drained a 3-pointer and Cory Joseph drove in for a reverse layup around a Nuggets turnover as San Antonio went in front 94-84 with 2 minutes left to play and Denver couldn't get back within striking distance.
BUCKS 96, SUNS 94
PHOENIX – Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Milwaukee Bucks a 96-94 win over the Phoenix Suns Monday night.
Middleton's shot bounced off the backboard and curled into the net for the game winner. It was the biggest three points of the 14 he scored on the night. The Bucks trailed 94-93 after Markieff Morris knocked down a 14-foot jumper from inside the free-throw line with 3.9 seconds left.
Morris led the Suns with 25 points, including two buckets in the last 24 seconds of a back-and-forth final five minutes.
Brandon Knight dropped in a running jump shot with 7.2 seconds left, part of his team-high 20 points for the Bucks (13-12).
Isaiah Thomas scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Thomas hit three 3-pointers and a layup between the 9:41 and 8:03 marks of the fourth.
But the Suns (12-14) dropped their sixth straight game, despite the Bucks losing prized rookie Jabari Parker to injury early in the second half.
CLIPPERS 113, PISTONS 91
LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin scored 18 points, DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers breezed to a 113-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Chris Paul had 11 points and eight assists. He committed one turnover in 24 minutes, after getting six in each of his previous two games. Paul finished last season with a league-best 4.57 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jodie Meeks had 20 points for Detroit.
J.J. Redick scored 14 points, and his streak of 29 games with a 3-pointer ended one game shy of teammate Matt Barnes' franchise record.
Jodie Meeks had 20 points and Andre Drummond had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who were coming off road wins against Phoenix and Sacramento after losing 13 straight.
The Clippers led 55-44 at halftime. Griffin set up a pair of alley-oop dunks by Jordan 68 seconds apart, capping a 16-4 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 47-36 lead with 4:41 left in the second quarter.