The Eastern Conference top team Cleveland Cavaliers got the better of the visiting Indiana Pacers with a close 100-96 victory at the Quicken Loans Arena on Monday night.

The Cavs saw the return of the team's superstar LeBron James, who was given a day-off in their 113-99 loss to the Wizards.

Like Us on Facebook

James led the Cavaliers with a game-high 33 points, along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to their 42^nd win of the season.

"We showed some mental toughness," James, who shot 14 for 22 from the field in 36.49 minutes of playing time, said. "So many lead changes, so many ties. They grabbed the momentum late in the fourth and we were able to keep our composure, get some stops, make some shots and win the ballgame."

Kyrie Irving, who converted four free shots from the foul line in the last eight second of the game, finished the evening with 22 points while going 5 for 13 from the field and went perfect 11 for 11 from the free throw line.

Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love added 14 points and 13 points, respectively, while J.R. Smith chipped in 11 points for the Cavaliers, who improved their record to 25-5 at home.

The game was a close one from the start. The first half ended with Cleveland leading by just one point 44-43. In the third quarter, both teams managed to produce 30 points apiece capping the third period with 74-73 going in to the final quarter of the game.

In the fourth period, Indiana was able to have a 6-0 run to take the lead 79-74 with over nine minutes left. Dellavedova made a trey to tie the score at 94 all with 1:13 minutes remaining. Thompson gave the lead back to the Cavs with a jump shot to make it 96-94 with 39.5 ticks to go and blocked a shot from a driving Stuckey in the last 17.9 seconds in the game.

TagsLebron James, cleveland cavaliers, NBA