Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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Kyrie Irving’s return to action was a superb one, but the Cavaliers needed big-time help from an unexpected quarter to upset the Los Angeles Lakers 100-94 at the Q Tuesday night. The victory broke a five-game losing streak and moved Cleveland to 5-17 on the season, still the third-worst record in the NBA.

That help came from C.J. Miles, who for one night exchanged the gamy stench of his 2012-13 campaign for the fresh scent of success.  Starting at shooting guard in place of the injured Dion Waiters, Miles- who in all fairness has performed better of late with three straight double-digit games going into Tuesday’s contest- put together his best scoring effort in nearly two years. Setting the tone early with some hot first-quarter shooting, Miles dropped in 28 points on 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown. In addition to his fast start, he also finished strong with 12 fourth-quarter points to help the Cavaliers hang on.

Blown leads has been a hallmark of this season, but Tuesday night saw a pleasing (and likely temporary) reversal of that trend. After Miles put the Cavaliers ahead 32-31 with 8:01 left in the first half, they never trailed again. Cleveland led by 15 at halftime and by as many as 16 in the third period and although Los Angeles surged to within a single basket on two different occasions in the fourth, the Cavaliers continually found ways to maintain control of the game.

Irving’s return was the story going in, and the youngster didn’t disappoint. Logging 38 minutes, Irving matched Miles with 28, hitting 11-of-21 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range and adding 11 assists and 6 rebounds. Once again the kid was clutch in the crunch. With 7:36 remaining and the Cavaliers clinging to a 77-75 lead, Irving sliced inside for a three-point play that kick-started the run that effectively put it away. His three-pointer made it 89-82 with 3:37 left, and his final two assists of the night, both on Anderson Varejao baskets, iced it for the Wine & Gold.

Varejao and Alonzo Gee rounded out the big contributions for the Cavaliers. The former enjoyed yet another solid night with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The latter chipped in with 17 points on 6-of-14 with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and tenacious (if fruitless) defense on Kobe Bryant. The quintet of Irving, Miles, Varejao and Gee combined for 87 percent of Cleveland’s total scoring.

For L.A. it was another tough night in a season full of them. Bryant did his part, strafing the Cavaliers with 42 points on 16-of-28 shooting. But aside from Dewey Howard and his 19-point, 20-rebound performance the Lake Show legend got precious little help from his supporting cast, still shorn of the services of Pao Gasol and Steve Nash. Los Angeles shot just 41.3 percent with 18 turnovers to 11 assists and failed to take advantage of a 54-43 edge on the boards. The Lakers dropped to 9-13 with the loss and they looked every bit of a below .500 team in falling to the lowly Cavaliers.

Cleveland, meanwhile, can savor its first win of December. Hopefully there will be another one before the curtain rings on 2012.

Next: Tomorrow night at 7:00 when the Cavaliers look for their first winning streak since March against the Pacers in Indianapolis.