CLEVELAND -- There has been a lot of talk around the NBA that Stephen Curry of the Warriors is deserving of consideration for the league's MVP award.
And rightly so.
The Warriors came into the game with the Cavs with the top record in the NBA at 44-10. Curry is a big reason the Warriors are playing so well as he entered the game averaging 23.8 points a game and 7.8 assist a game.
But the MVP talk might be premature.
It was only one game, but four-time MVP LeBron James made his case with a 42 point, 11 rebound performance. James was very efficient in his shooting going 15-of-25 as the Cavaliers won their fourth-straight game 110-99 over the team with the league's best record in front of a sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs have won 18 of their last 20 games.
It was James' 16th double-double of the season and his season high scoring performance.
Meanwhile, Curry was held to just 18 points. He was held to five-of-17 from the field and was just three-of-nine from behind the three-point arc.
Curry was asked about the MVP conversation.
"Well, I hope it's not based on this game," Curry said. "If I'm playing one-on-one against (LeBron) and you look at tonight, then I lost, obviously. It's about a body of work.
"It's about what your team is doing," he said. "It's just about just being consistent over the course of the season, and that's my job. You're obviously going to have off nights. You can put the spotlight on whatever you want to. But for the most part, my job is to go out and play hard every single night to try to help my team win."
David Blatt said there's no question that James is playing like an MVP candidate.
"I've been saying that for weeks," Blatt said. "Obviously, he was just fabulous tonight.
"LeBron has been playing some of the best basketball of his storied and illustrious career since he came back from the two week hiatus or rehabilitation period that he went through," Blatt said. "He just has been playing high level basketball since day one that he came back."
Blatt was asked if he felt James had a little extra motivation going up against Curry and the Warriors.
"Did he have an extra oomph or did he feel a little bit jacked up about the game?" Blatt asked. "He's probably played over 1,000 games and sometimes, you need something to challenge yourself and take yourself to the next level, particularly if you're playing at such a high level already, so maybe it's a good thing."
James down played the game versus the Warriors.
"That's not about me," James said. "For me, I have to be the MVP for these 14 guys in this locker room. When I'm out on the floor, I try do everything to help us win-- offensively, defensively, whatever the case may be. Wherever I end up at the end of the season, that's where it's at."
James said he enjoys the challenge, but with recent season-ending injuries in the NBA occurring (Chris Bosh, Derek Rose), he's just excited for the opportunity to play the game he loves.
"It's not guaranteed that you are going to be able to play the next day," James said. "The game can be taken away from you so fast I get excited about the opportunity to put the uniform on and lace up the sneakers and go out and play the game.
"The matchups are always great when you play against a team that's playing well like Golden state, but the excitement just comes from the love of the game. "
James said the coaches challenged him after Thursday morning's shoot around.
"I was challenged by my coaches this morning," James said. "They wanted me to play a little more in the post and be aggressive. I just try to do what I need to do to help our team win. I was happy I was able to make a few plays to help us do that."
Besides Curry, Klay Thompson, who makes up the other half of the 'Splash Brothers' finished with 13 points on just five-of-13 from the field. Thompson entered the game averaging 22.3 points a game.
"The Splash Brothers (Curry and Thompson) were 10-of-30 from the field," Blatt said.
Blatt singled out the defensive effort by Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving on Curry and Thompson.
Curry had scored at least 20 points in 12 consecutive games coming in, and averaged 28.1 in the last 10.
James said it all starts with defense.
"That's our staple as of late," James said "We understand that no matter what you do offensively, if you don't defend at a high level, you're not going to give yourself a chance to win... and we defended. They're one of the top offenses in our league and we played at a high level for 48 minutes."
Tip Ins:
Kerr on Blatt: Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played for the Cavaliers from 1989-93, tried to hire Blatt as an assistant coach after he was hired this year.
"It would've been nice to work with him, but I'm really happy for him," Kerr said. "I'm happy to see him going through smoother waters
Kerr not missing TV: Kerr was asked if he missed being the color analyst for TNT with Marv Albert.
"I had a cup of coffee with Marv today," Kerr said. "30 minutes is long enough with Marv."
Perkins Factor: Kendrick Perkins checked in with 5:17 to play in the second quarter and played for 2:13. He did not play the rest of the game and finished with one rebound, one turnover and two fouls. It was Perkins' first appearance at home with the Cavs since signing on Tuesday.
Home Cooking: The Cavs have won 11 straight at home by an average of 15 points, their longest such run since stringing together 11 consecutive victories Feb. 23-April 6, 2010.
Homecoming: Northeast Ohio native Ali La Force was the sideline reporter for TNT with Marv Albert and Chris Webber on the play-by-play. La Force was married four weeks ago to former Indians pitcher Joe Smith, currently with the Angels.
