Kevin Love scored 22 points, Garrett Allen scored his second consecutive double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets to win 99-87 on Monday.

Allen finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds to help the Cavaliers get off to a good start on a five-game wild ride. He was coming out scoring 11 points and grabbing 14 rebounds at the weekend in Atlanta, in another win.

The Cavaliers beat out good night from current NBA player Nikola Jokic, who scored 24 points and had 19 rebounds. They stopped Denver to 9 of 38 3-point attempts and forced more than 20 turns.

Cleveland, the leader with 11 in the third quarter, saw a comeback attempt from Denver to tie the score at 70. But Loew hit the back to start the 19-3 streak that helped define the game.

Darius Garland scored nine points for the CAFs on his return after losing their last two games due to a sprained left ankle.

Spaniard Ricky Rubio and Argentine Facundo Campazzo received techniques at the end of the third quarter after colliding. Rubio looked fed up with Campazzo’s corner error. Campazzo finished with three points, two rebounds and three assists.