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 James had 22 points and 11 assists, Waiters had 17 points,
including two big buckets late in the game, and the Cavaliers beat
the Denver Nuggets 110-101 on Friday night.
Waiters shook off a hard foul late in the first half that had him
walking gingerly to make some big plays to keep Cleveland
comfortably ahead.
"He had a terrific game today and I told him so in the locker room,"
Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. "He came in and did exactly what
we needed him to do. He scored the ball, he played and defended his
position and he made plays. He was definitely one of the reasons we
won."
Forward Kevin Love also had 19 points and eight rebounds for the
Cavaliers, who ended a two-game skid.
Cleveland won the first and last game of its four-city road trip,
which included back-to-back games against Portland and Utah.
 The Cavaliers came into Denver struggling and searching for
continuity. The addition of James and Love came with expectations of
a deep playoff run. A 1-3 start made fans antsy and prompted James
to channel Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers with a tweet for
people to "relax."
Then he went out and gave them a reason to relax, leading seven
players in double figures.
"We didn't play so well in Portland," James said. "That's a
second-round Western Conference playoff team right there and they
showed it. In Utah, that first half wasn't the style of basketball
we want to play. I think from that third quarter on, last six
quarters straight, I think we played basketball the way we want to
play."
Cleveland fans are probably feeling a little better about their team
after Friday. The Cavaliers dominated for three-and-a-half quarters
until Denver cut a 21-point lead to six with 4:30 left.
They had a chance to make it a one-possession game but Waiters'
steal and layup followed by a 20-foot jumper made it 102-92 with
3:06 remaining.
The Nuggets got within seven but James took over. After being a
facilitator for much of the game, he scored on two aggressive drives
to the bucket to seal the win.
"There's a time for equal opportunity offense and there's a time for
target-player offense and I thought we did a good job managing those
today," Blatt said.
Denver guard Randy Foye led all scorers with 28 points and added
nine assists. Forward Wilson Chandler had 14 points and 10 rebounds
and guard Nate Robinson also scored 14 points for the Nuggets, who
were without guard Ty Lawson in their fourth straight loss.
"He stepped up and took advantage of the moment," Denver coach Brian
Shaw said of Foye. "He was aggressive from the start when he came in
the game. He was in a position to where he had to be a facilitator
as well."
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The Cavaliers (2-4) didn't commit their first foul until 37.9
seconds left in the first and didn't get their second until 8:36
remained in the second.
Denver, on the other hand, was whistled for 10 of the first 11
fouls, including Darrell Arthur's Flagrant 1 and an automatic
ejection when he pushed Waiters to the floor on a layup with 4.4
left in the opening period.
"I thought he was going to let me go because I was already there and
he pushed me," Waiters said. "My back is killing me now but it's
cool. I don't want anyone to be suspended. The play is over, we won.
I don't really care about anything else."
It capped another poor first quarter for the Nuggets, who trailed
38-20. They were outscored 40-19 in Sacramento in the first on
Wednesday and lost by 25.
"Coming in and giving the team an 18-point lead in the first
quarter, that's tough," Robinson said. "In the beginning of the
game, we have to play like we did in the second half."
Denver (1-4) did make a run in the second quarter. Robinson's
3-pointer with 2:14 left in the half made it 51-42 but James scored
five points in 11 seconds and Cleveland went into halftime leading
58-45.
The Nuggets weren't able to come all the way back and face the
prospect of their worst start in 11 seasons with back-to-back games
against Portland on the schedule.
"There are a lot of teams with bad records early," Robinson said.
"We have to stick together and keep playing."
NOTES: Nuggets G Ty Lawson was a late scratch from the lineup with
left ankle soreness. Lawson was bothered by the ankle and a
hamstring injury in preseason. He is averaging 12.5 points and 7.8
assists a game this season. ... Cleveland G Kyrie Irving has scored
30 or more points 25 times in his career. ... Nuggets F J.J. Hickson
served the last of his five-game suspension for violation of the
league's anti-drug policy. He can return to action Sunday against
Portland. ... The Cavaliers have shot at least 85 percent from the
line in their first four games. Overall, they lead the NBA in
free-throw shooting.
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