CLEVELAND -- Iman Shumpert didn't look like he missed a beat.
The Cleveland Cavaliers guard left last Sunday's game after jamming his ankle on a dunk attempt and did not return to the game. Thursday against the Heat he came off the bench and had his season high scoring for the Cavs with 17 points as the Cavs rolled to a 114-88 victory at Quicken Loans Arena.
"I just want to win games and keep it moving," Shumpert said. "We just come in and play hard. The main thing is to just trying to get wins. This is a very selfless team, we all try to get in there and do our job and win games."
Overall, Shumpert has been a big reason the Cavs have put together an NBA-best 30-7 record since Jan. 15.
Shumpert did all of his scoring in the first three quarters off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from the field with three of four coming from behind the three-point line.
"Everybody on the team encourages me to shoot more when I'm open," Shumpert said. "At times, I'm more of a rhythm guy and when I get the shot just have to knock it down."
Shumpert missed his final two shots from long range to finish with 7-of-12 in 26 minutes, but his impact in the win was felt long before the fourth quarter. He had 13 points in just 12 minutes in the first half.
Shumpert, who joined the Cavs in a three-way trade on Jan. 5, has averaged 6.5 points for the Cavs (7.7 overall on the season). He also has 44 steals.
Shumpert is known for his defensive prowess, but his offensive game is picking up as he's scored above his season average in four of the last five games.
"He was just really good at both ends of the court," David Blatt said. "He's a big part of what we're doing here because he's so impactful on the defensive end and he's playing with guys that obviously get him good looks. He's doing such a good job for us energy-wise and activity-wise.
"We like him shooting the ball when they're good looks like had had tonight, but he's also got that capability and that burst to be able to get to the rim when he has to," Blatt said. "Again, with the group of guys that he's playing with, it makes it easier for him at that end and he just needs to know how to take advantage of it and I thought he did that tonight extremely well."
Shumpert's career-best game scoring was 27 points last season against the Spurs. His best game this season with the Knicks was 21 points on Nov. 18. He also had 10 rebounds against the Pacers on Feb. 27 for the Cavs.
Since the beginning of the season, the Cavs bench has improved immensely, and a big part of that has been the addition and play of Shumpert, according to Blatt.
"Our bench has been one of the many reasons our play has improved so dramatically (since the beginning of the season)."
Tip Ins
Jones Starts: James Jones started in place of Kevin Love, who was held out for precautionary reasons with a back injury.
Jones scored the first points of the game as he hit a three-ball from the corner. He was 1-of-3 in the first half and 3-of-3 from the free throw line in 12 minutes in the first half for six points.
"When somebody can't play, it's next man up," Blatt said. "The sign of a good team is that you can make up for that if you're missing somebody. We don't want to play without Kevin.
"We need Kevin," he said. "We know what his value is to us and how much he brings to the table. But, if he's down for a night, someone else has to step up and I thought a lot of guys stepped up and that's a very good sign."
Old Friend: Former Cavalier Luol Deng finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 from the field. He also had eight rebounds and two assists.
LeBron Keeps Going: LeBron James passed Patrick Ewing to become the NO. 20 all-time leading scorer in NBA history. He finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
It was the 637th straight game that James has scored at least 10 points, third-best in NBA history.
