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The New Jersey Nets may be on pace for the worst NBA season ever, but that doesn’t mean they can’t compete with the best the league has to offer on any given day.

Exhibit A: Tuesday night’s game.

The Nets – now 4-47 on the season – didn’t seem intimidated by the league-leading Cavs, and although Cleveland led from the second quarter on, they failed to build up a comfortable lead until late in the fourth quarter. The final outcome was a 104-97 Cavaliers’ victory, not exactly the blow-out win that you would expect over a team with a 1-27 record on the road.

Still, a win is a win.

“It wasn’t quite there in the first half, it wasn’t quite there in the second half,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said after the game. ”But with other guys stepping up, especially offensively, we found a way to get the W.”

The Nets may be a struggling franchise, but the Cavs knew it would be a tough game.

“They’ve been in a lot of games that they haven’t been able to win,” Daniel Gibson said. “We knew they were going to play hard and we just wanted to stick to our game plan and finish the game the right way.”

The Cavs actually trailed by one after the first quarter, even though LeBron James put up seven points and five assists in the period. They picked things up slightly in the second quarter and headed into halftime leading 55-49.

Although it was a game where the Cavaliers never really seemed in danger of losing, they definitely lacked focus in the opening 24 minutes.

“I thought that in the first half, we didn’t have as much grit as we normally do,” Brown said. ”That’s something we have built our reputation on.”

Superstar James made sure the Cavaliers didn’t have the same problem in the second half. After sitting back and allowing his teammates to do most of the scoring in the first half, he came out firing after halftime. He scored 23 points and five assists in the half, including a 13-point outburst in the fourth.

“You know he’s going to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game,” Hayes said. ”And, he’s such an elite player in this league, that he’s going to make a play.”

James was crucial in a 20-11 run by the Cavaliers to open the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach. By the time the Nets stopped the bleeding, the home team had built up a 15-point advantage (98-83). They would never look back.

“I think the Cavs showed why they are such a great team, especially at home,” Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. ”They finished the game well.”

In all, five of Vandeweghe’s players finished the game in double figures. Leading the way was center Brooke Lopez, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have now won 12-straight games, the longest streak in the NBA this season.

“It’s all about us trying to get better every day,” said James. ”If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win. We have to continue the flow.”