CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Family atmosphere translates into winning

The Cavaliers won their second straight game by routing the Knicks.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers rookie LeBron James felt like he was in high school, Carlos Boozer felt like he was in college and Paul Silas felt like he was in heaven.
Winning can do that.
"I feel like we're coming together as a family," said James. "On the court, things will take care of themselves. But we're coming together off the court and trusting each other.
"That's going to make us a better team."
Over the past four days, the Cavaliers have transformed from a lousy team into ... well, not a good team, but at least a better one.
The proof came Monday night, when they took a 13-0 lead en route to a 94-80 rout of the New York Knicks at Gund Arena.
"I kind of feel like we flipped a switch," said Silas, the Cavs' coach. "We needed to change our mindset from last year and go from the past to the future. And I knew it would happen."
Nice start
Silas, who has stressed defense, defense and more defense, was especially happy with the start of Monday's game, as Cleveland held the Knicks scoreless over their first 10 possessions.
"That kind of set the tone for us," Silas said.
James continued to play well, scoring 17 points -- including 10 over the first seven minutes -- to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Chris Mihm came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points for Cleveland (2-5), which has won two straight.
"Everyone is doing a great job and giving a great effort," said Boozer, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. "We're definitely on a roll."
Ricky Davis continued his unselfish play -- that's a sentence no one ever read last year -- with a near triple-double, collecting 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
"I just love the way [Davis] is playing right now," Silas said. "He's playing such unselfish basketball right now that everybody is just picking up on that. He's almost coming up with a triple-double every night. That's what we need from him."
Knicks guard Allan Houston scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-25 shooting as New York (2-5) trailed from start-to-finish.
"This was just horrible, this was one of the worst ... I can't even remember last year losses like this," Houston said. "We played like we didn't even want to be there. That's just totally disappointing and there's no excuse for that."
Different directions
The Knicks shot just 40 percent from the field (31-of-77), were out-rebounded 49-34 and were severely outplayed near the basket, scoring just 12 points in the paint to Cleveland's 28.
"The reality is we didn't come ready to play," Houston said. "It's inexplicable and it's inexcusable.
"People are saying we can be a good team. We're not right now. We're not a good team right now, period."
Cleveland, meanwhile, has now played well in three straight games -- losing by one on the road to Indiana on Friday and beating Washington at home on Saturday.
It's still early, but after last year's miserable season, it's nice to have something positive to build on.
"Everyone is so focused right now," James said. "I feel like I'm back at [Akron] St. Vincent-St. Mary. Everybody is getting the shots they want and they're falling for us."
New attitude
And, unlike last season, people are coming to watch. Monday's crowd wasn't deafening, but the fans are getting louder.
Especially compared to last season.
"It's like night and day," Boozer, who routinely played in front of large crowds in college at Duke, said. "The fans are a lot more supportive. You can hear the crowd roar. We had that last year, but it wasn't from the same quantity of people."
The Cavaliers have another winnable game on Wednesday on the road against the Heat.
"We have a tough game in Miami and they haven't won yet, so they're going to be after a win," Silas said. "If we approach it in a defensive manner, it's always going to give us a chance.
"That's my message to them the rest of the season -- play good defense and it gives you a chance to win."
scalzo@vindy.com