By driving, West not only got himself better chances but he also appeared to have caught the Timberwolves completely off guard. Their scouting reports, it seemed, suggested West would settle for jumpers, so they ran at him whenever he was open on the outside. Time and time again, West slipped past and got a good shot.

The result was a season-high 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, by far his best game in several weeks.

"I've always been able to do that, I just haven't brought it out as much this year," West said.

That certainly was true in the third quarter Tuesday. The Cavs trailed at halftime, 52-49, and were missing the energy that was a staple during most of the winning streak to this point. Then West changed all that.

"My teammates did a good job finding me, making the extra pass," he said. "It was something we talked about at halftime - getting back to playing Cavs Basketball, moving the ball around. We just exploited the zone they were trying to play.

They did a great job in the first half. You have to credit the coaching staff. We came in at halftime and they showed us areas where we could attack the zone and be a little more efficient in playing our offense in the second half and we came out and executed."

Not to be overlooked was his defense against Vince Carter, who came into the game averaging 23.8 points per game. Carter finished with 12 points, making just three of 12 shots.

"It's a very tough matchup," West said. "He's still a top-tier player in this league. I'll take it as he was taking a night off. Normally, he comes out firing. We stayed with our team concepts and tried to run him into other defenders, and it worked."

With West leading the charge, the Cavs took control in the third quarter. They outscored the Nets, 28-13. They also limited New Jersey to 35.3 percent shooting (6-of-17) and forced five turnovers.

"That third quarter started with very, very low energy," said New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank, whose team dropped to 4-6. "We had a series of poor possessions. We were bad on both ends, and that's a recipe for a big loss. We didn't do enough."

The Cavs continued their dominance in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Nets, 29-17. New Jersey made just six of 20 shots in the final period - 30 percent.

"We went on a roll," said Mo Williams, who finished with 16 points, six assists and six rebounds. "We were getting stops and getting buckets at the other end. That separated us and put it out of reach. That was in a situation like this, where we're going into Detroit. You don't want to be in a hard-fought battle down the stretch and walk out of here deadbeat tired going into their place."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668