The new-look Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a strong start after scoring a dominating 107-80 win against Tel Aviv Maccabi Electra in their NBA Preseason 2014 debut at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kyrie Irving led the way for the Cavaliers as he finished with 16 points to go along with five assists and two steals, while backcourt partner Dion Waiters posted 15 points and three assists.
LeBron James played in only 19 minutes in his first game back in a Cavaliers uniform, finishing with 12 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while Kevin Love posted eight points and 11 rebounds in his Cavaliers debut.
Tristan Thompson also had a huge night for the Cavaliers as he racked up 14 points and 13 boards, while Anderson Varejao did the dirty job, tallying 15 rebounds on top of his six points for the Cavaliers, who were hardly threatened for the entire match.
The Cavaliers took a 30-24 lead after the first quarter before extending the lead to 15 points at the half after a strong second-quarter performance. Their reserves took the spotlight in the second half en route to the blowout victory.
The Cavaliers were simply too much for their European opponent, dominating the battle of the boards - 64-36 - while also limiting Maccabi Electra to 32.5 percent shooting from the field.
Watch the highlights of the Cavaliers-Tel Aviv match below, while more videos are available on this link.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors also jumped start their preseason campaign on a bright note as they escaped with a 99-94 win against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
DeMar DeRozan had a solid performance for the Raptors as he ended up with 21 points and two rebounds, while Jonas Valanciunas and Louis Williams finished with 12 points apiece. Terrence Ross and Tyler Hansbrough added 11 points each for the Raptors, who were outrebounded in the match, 45-30.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 13 points and six rebounds, but did not get enough support from Rudy Gay, who only added nine points on a measly 3-for-11 shooting from the field.
Highlights of the match are available here, while complete NBA preseason 2014 schedule can be seen on this link.
