CLEVELAND _ A clash of the old guard and the young upstarts Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena was at times frustrating for a Cavaliers team that has reached the last three NBA Finals.
There were stretches, especially in the first half, when the Cavs showed their age against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers were relentless on the offensive glass. They hustled for loose balls, scratched and clawed and sometimes blatantly held. The Cavs struggled to keep up with the quicker visitors, especially forward Brandon Ingram.
But Kevin Love pitched in 13 of his 28 points in the third quarter and LeBron James turned in his second triple-double in the last three games as the Cavs escaped with a 121-112 victory.
The Cavs (21-8) improved to 16-1 since Nov. 1 and will conclude a four-game homestand Saturday against Utah.
Love went 4 for 4 from the field in the third quarter. He hit 9 of 13 field goals, 4 of 5 from long range and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line. He added 11 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season.
With 25 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, James notched his fourth triple-double of the season and 59th of his career, which tied Larry Bird for sixth on the league's all-time list. James landed in the stands on a driving dunk with 2:20 to play, but was not injured.
Jose Calderon contributed a season-high 17 points with six assists for the Cavs.
Ingram led the Lakers with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists and Kyle Kuzma added 20 points and seven rebounds. Point guard Lonzo Ball, the second pick in the 2017 draft, just missed his third triple-double with 13 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
Larry Nance Jr. chipped in with six points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers (10-17).
The Lakers had a 49-39 edge on the boards, including 16-8 offensively.
The Lakers were without guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, sitting for what the team described as personal reasons. He was replaced by rookie Josh Hart of Villanova, who made his first career start and scored a career-high 11 points.
Dwyane Wade returned to action for the Cavs after missing Tuesday's game with left knee soreness. But he was not himself, missing his first six shots, most at the rim, but finished with 10 points and six assists.
Cavs center Tristan Thompson was a late scratch after experiencing soreness in his left calf during pregame warmups. Thompson returned Tuesday after missing 19 games with the injury, but played only six minutes, all the first quarter. He had been slated to see action only in the first half, coach Tyronn Lue said before the game.
Boosted by a 28-10 advantage in points in the paint and an 11-1 advantage in second-chance points, the Lakers grabbed a 37-28 lead in the second quarter, prompting an angry Lue to call timeout at the 9:29 mark.
The Cavs were clearly frustrated by the young Lakers.
In the first quarter, James stayed back on defense to protest a no-call. Instead of burning the Cavs, it turned into an easy James running dunk off a long outlet pass from Love.
When Love was called for an offensive foul at the 7:17 mark in the second quarter despite being held by Hart, Love almost fired the ball at someone. Instead, after a Jordan Clarkson basket, Love hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 41-37.
Love's shot seemed to awaken the Cavs from long range. After hitting a season-high 20 3s in Tuesday's victory over the Hawks, the Cavs connected on 3 of 7 in the first quarter. Then they made 7 of 13 beyond the arc in the second period to take a 63-60 lead at halftime. Six of the seven came after Love's retaliatory trey.
J.R. Smith's corner 3 with 2:11 in the second quarter enabled the Cavs to extend their franchise record to 18 consecutive games with at least 10 treys. It also enabled Smith (1,8231) to pass Chauncey Billups (1,830) and move into 11th place on the NBA's career list for 3-pointers made.
The usually consistent Cavs bench hit just one of its first six field goals before Jeff Green and Kyle Korver got untracked.
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