MEMPHIS The Cleveland Cavaliers' recent dominance carried over to a trouncing of one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

The Cavaliers built a 29-point lead in the third quarter, maintained the cushion through the fourth and defeated Memphis 111-89 on Wednesday night, handing the Grizzlies their biggest home loss of the season.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Kevin Love added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight and eighth in the last nine. Since Jan. 15, Cleveland is 28-6 and holds the Eastern Conference's second seed by a three-game cushion over Chicago.

LeBron James finished with 20 points and Timofey Mozgov added 14 for Cleveland. J.R. Smith had 13 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 51 percent and were 14 of 34 from 3-point range.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 18 points, while Beno Udrih scored 15. Jeff Green had 11 points for Memphis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

The Grizzlies, who hold the second seed in the West, saw their advantage over third-place Houston shrink to 1 1/2 games after the Rockets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 95-93 on Wednesday night.
The game was not in doubt after the big third quarter from the Cavaliers, who outscored Memphis 36-24 in the frame.

The Cavaliers were able to convert because Memphis appeared to simply be going through the motions on both ends of the floor after halftime. The Grizzlies' defense, which is among the best in the league, was virtually nonexistent as Cleveland converted on dunks and jumpers.