Cavs vs Wizards Final Scores, Results and Updates: Cavaliers on top

When J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving get hot, the Cavaliers are downright scary.

Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler famously has coined “Lawler’s Law”, which means that, in his opinion, the first team to 100 always wins. He kept the ball on a string, the Raptors at bay and LeBron resting on the bench, and the Cavs continued to snuff out Toronto’s attack, holding the Raps to 36.8 percent shooting in the final frame.

The Raptors (21-15) weren’t embarrassed, but they couldn’t keep pace in the fourth quarter. Not only does Irving make those acrobatic shots consistently, he makes them look routine – to the point where you expect him to make each and every one. The second stop on Cleveland’s six-game road trip takes place Friday at the Minnesota Timberwolves…. One can just watch and admire the beauty of Irving playing basketball.

Brandon Jennings had 17 points and six assists in his fourth game back from his Achilles tendon injury, and the Detroit Pistons rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season, a 115-89 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

Typically, to get in the conversation, you don’t necessarily need to be the best player in the game, but the best player on a contender. At the 10:04 mark in the third quarter the Cavaliers were up 73-55, but Washington would finish the quarter outscoring Cleveland 34-to-22. The Cavaliers have won four straight since moving Thompson into the starting lineup over Timofey Mozgov….

Kyrie Irving officially appears to be back at full strength after missing the beginning of the season while recovering from a broken knee cap.

Thompson had been in the Cavs’ closing lineup, but now they’ve decided to make the switch from the start of games. I just signed a contract to get back to doing what I love. “Obviously, I’m going to side with Nike no matter who it is”. The real debate is whether Irving is the top player at his position in the entire league – yes, including Stephen Curry.

What does this trend mean for the Raptors?

In many ways, Irving is the closest thing we’ve seen to Allen Iverson since The Answer was at his peak.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle sat out Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Wesley Matthews after each played 40-plus minutes in a double-overtime victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night.

Reserves Richaun Holmes and Carl Landry had 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Sixers.

After facing off against Jonas Valanciunas on Monday, Tristan will be challenged again on Wednesday night, matching up with Marcin Gortat – who’s averaging 15.4 points and 11.2 boards over his last 13 games, netting nine double-doubles during that stretch. Thompson, who Wittman called a “beast on the boards”, finished with just three rebounds.

James didn’t have to re-enter because Irving did a little of everything early in the fourth, aggressively rebounding his own miss and drawing a foul at one end, then poking the ball away from Lowry that led to a 24-second violation at the other.