Cavaliers 98, Nuggets 88: Tristan Thompson erupted for 17 points and a career-high 21 rebounds as host Cleveland halted Denver's seven-game winning streak.

Thompson ripped down nine offensive boards as Cleveland dominated the glass, outrebounding the Nuggets 58-43. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 23 points while Anderson Varejao added 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Randy Foye's 16 points paced the Nuggets, who shot under 39.1 percent from the field. J.J. Hickson had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Nate Robinson added 14 points off the bench.

Thompson's five points and nine rebounds lifted Cleveland to a 31-24 first-quarter lead, and Irving helped the Cavaliers extend the advantage in the second with back-to-back layups just before the midway point of the quarter. The Nuggets staged a late surge, as Ty Lawson converted a layup as part of a three-point play and Foye knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send Denver into the break down 56-52.

Andrew Bynum helped the Cavaliers create some distance in the third, following up a solid first-half performance with eight points in a 3:38 span as Cleveland fended off three straight Timofey Mozgov baskets to carry a 79-73 advantage into the fourth. The Cavaliers defense took over in the final quarter, holding Denver to one field goal over the first 4:36 while Varejao had five straight points to restore the double-digit advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Thompson, who came into the game shooting just 7-for-27 over his previous four games, shot 6-for-13 against Denver. ... Lawson's second-quarter layup was his only field goal of the night; he wound up with just four points on 1-of-13 shooting but did add 11 assists. ... Irving hit a pair of 3-pointers Wednesday after making just two over his previous five games combined.