The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business. Let’s see who won and lost the night.

I don’t know where the Cavs would be without Jaylon Tyson this season. I mean, I don’t even know where they’d be this week without the sophomore wing.

Tyson started the week by scoring a career-high 27 points on 10-13 shooting against the Indiana Pacers. Now on Friday night, Tyson continued his streak of efficiency by pouring in 24 points on an unreal 11-15 shooting. Tyson made 11 of his first 12 shots and has made 27 of his last 36 attempts (72%).

This is a remarkable development for a player who wasn’t in the rotation last season. Tyson has picked his spots to perfection, only attempting open three-pointers or driving aggressively to the basket. If it isn’t a quality shot, Tyson isn’t taking it. This has made him the ultimate role player, playing within his comfort zone and reaping the rewards.

WINNER – Points in the Paint

Everyone has grown frustrated with the Cavs’ three-point shooting. You simply can’t lead the league in three-point attempts if you’re going to be in the bottom-10 for efficiency. At least, you can’t do that and expect to win the majority of your games.

Even Kenny Atkinson has acknowledged that this team needs to get to the basket more often. They did that tonight.

The Cavs had 46 points in the paint in their previous loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Tonight versus the Spurs, they had 40 points in the paint at halftime, and had a season-high 68 before the fourth quarter even began. They finished with 80 points in the paint and improved to 9-2 whenever they score 50+ points in that zone this season.

Cleveland could certainly snap out of their cold spell from downtown. Especially once they have Sam Merrill, Max Strus and Darius Garland in the lineup. But for now, this approach seems more realistic — even if they won’t always be able to take advantage of a Spurs team without their best rim protector.

Wade has had a rough go this season. Particularly from the three-point line, where his sub-30% shooting had been making it hard to keep him on the floor.

He finally found his range tonight. Wade hit multiple three-pointers in a game for the first time since November 12, scoring 12 points in an all-around positive performance. He spaced the floor, cut to the basket, and shot 4-6 on the night. This was a much-needed showing from Wade.

WINNER AND LOSER – Defense is a Tale of Two Halves

This game wasn’t very fun at the start.

San Antonio opened this game by getting anything they wanted. Open three-pointers? Check. Devyn Vassell nailed seven three-pointers in the first half on his way to a career-high 25 points in two quarters.

Offensive rebounds? The Spurs did that too. San Antonio had gobbled up roughly 50% of their own misses for 18 second-chance points in the first half alone.

At that rate, the Cavs could have been in for an ugly night. Fortunately they snapped into another gear and began to defend in the second half. San Antonio only had 19 points in the third quarter — and Vassell finished with just 28 points after scoring 25 in the first half.

We can nitpick and say that Cleveland shouldn’t have needed a halftime pep-talk to kick into gear. But hey, this is a step in the right direction. Let’s not complain.