Apr 3, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) blocks a shot attempt of Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

How many words can one throw around to describe what they witnessed when the Brooklyn Nets came to Quicken Loans Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers? Abomination comes to mind first, especially if we’re talking about a synonym that goes hand in hand with the defense’s performance on Wednesday night. It was a porous effort from the start, and the Cavs’ lack of effort down low led to the team’s embarrassing demise.

When shooting guard MarShon Brooks – a player that was averaging 5.1 points going into the game – had already tripled his regular offensive output before the first half even came to a close and nothing was being done about it, you know Cleveland was in for a long night.

But why was nothing done? Why did head coach Byron Scott continue to fool around with the zone defense instead of trying to shut down Brooklyn’s hottest shooter on the night? Brooks finished with 26 points and made all nine of his attempts in the first half to finish 12-of-16 from the field.

The Cavaliers had a fork stuck in them from the start due to lethargic defense in the paint. The Wine and Gold allowed the Nets to roam free for dunk after dunk, outscoring Cleveland in the paint 12-6 after the first 12 minutes. This trend continued for the rest of the game, as Brooklyn spread the ball around in an attempt to further tire the weary Cavalier defense. Because of this the Nets stayed on the right track of keeping the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, dismantling the Cavs by a score of 113-95.

Cleveland went after Brook Lopez early on in the first quarter for good reasons. The Brooklyn center had averaged 29 points and nine rebounds in two previous matches against the Cavs (both resulting in wins) this season. While Cleveland tried to pester Lopez by forcing him to go outside, it seemed that the Wine and Gold had forgotten about almost every other player on the Nets roster when carrying out this “game plan.”

Poor defense by the Cavaliers coupled with scorching-hot shooting from the Nets in the first half (73 percent from the field!) allowed Brooklyn to put the game out of reach by only the second quarter. Brooks and Reggie Evans were the most active players on the floor early on, and Evans’ aggressiveness allowed him to grab 12 rebounds in the first half.

While the Nets were having fun taking every shot that Cleveland was giving them (they went 15-of-18 in the second quarter) and Kyrie Irving was struggling to get any phase of his game going (2-of-9 from the field in the first half), Marreese Speights was the only player giving visible effort on the court. But what does that even matter when your team allows 66 points in 24 minutes of play? Down by 30 going into the half, this game was over and the Cavs looked defeated.

Speights finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

In the third quarter, off of an inbounds pass, a play involving Deron Williams pretty much summed up Cleveland’s defensive effort. After almost every Cavalier had their backs to Williams – who was running toward the rim – Williams jumped over surprised Wine and Gold players for the bucket and an and-one conversion.

The Cavaliers closed the gap in the fourth quarter, but the game was a lost cause far before the final buzzer sounded. Cleveland will gear up for its next game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday night. They will try to end their 10-game slide, with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

Dec. 29, 2012; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller (40) during the second half at Barclays Center. Nets won 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

With Kyrie Irving back in action tonight, things are again looking up for the Wine& Gold. Irving will take the floor tonight against Nets in Brooklyn and owner Jay-Z, who just founded Roc Nation Sports. It’s also, more importantly, the return of Kyrie Irving after he missed Monday’s game. And without a doubt, he is the key to the Cavaliers winning a game, in all seriousness, have no business winning.

Opponent’s Blog:  From Russia With Dunk

Venue: Quicken Loans Arena

Tipoff: 7:00 PM ET

Betting Line: Nets by -5

Where you can watch: Fox Sports Ohio

Where you can listen: WTAM (1100), WFUN (970 AM)

This is big name for Brooklyn as the season starts to wind down. They currently are only one game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and two games ahead of the Chicago Bulls. Obtaining the fourth seed is key, as it leaves a clearer path to a potential second round matchup against the Miami Heat. That one extra game at home in a closely contested series could mean the Nets move onto the next round.

Granted, they probably could lose this game and be okay. Matchups against the likes of the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats give the Nets some potential leeway if they do fall.

Tonight, however, there is a direct path to victory. With Brook Lopez at center, there is a clear path to victory: pound the ball inside and attack Tyler Zeller. The last time these teams matched up, Zeller was completely outmatched on the defensive end and fouled out mid-way through the fourth quarter. Luke Walton then had to step in to play center and I think it’s pretty obvious how that turns out no matter who is playing center.

For the Cavaliers, they need Irving to play big. With Deron Williams not playing the best basketball of his career and slowed by persistent ankle issues, Irving should be on the attack from the get go. Use Tristan Thompson and Irving in pick and roll situations to attempt to get easy buckets and open the wings. Role players like CJ Miles, Wayne Ellington and Zeller are going to need to hit their shots tonight.

My guess is that Irving is going to get his and the Nets will have no answer for him. Like against the Hawks, Irving is going to make the Cavaliers a better basketball team and he may even be the best player on the court tonight. But the everywhere else is lacking to the point where it’s hard to see how the Cavaliers are going to even make this competitive.

The best case for the Cavaliers is that Irving plays superhero and just puts on a dazzling performance in Brooklyn. The better he plays, the better the Cavaliers and thus the better chance Cleveland has to win the game. But everything will need to go right and, as we all know after watching 73 games of Cavalier basketball, that just isn’t going to happen.

Dec. 29, 2012; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward C.J. Miles (0) shoots over Brooklyn Nets power forward Andray Blatche (0) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

On any other night if Irving has an off night, the entire team struggles. This game was different. The performance of players not named Kyrie is what kept the Cavs in the game; most notably the show C.J. Miles put on form behind the arc. Miles finished the game with 33 points, on a remarkable 11-of-15 shooting, 8-of-10 from behind the arc.

The crafty veteran, Luke Walton, found himself playing more minutes than starting center Tyler Zeller. Zeller fouled out with 12 points and seven rebounds. The young center has struggled all year on defense and tonight was no different. Brook Lopez dominated Zeller down low all game and finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds. Back to Walton, he played 30 minutes, his season high, and filled the stat sheet pretty well with four points, four rebounds and six assists. Say what you want about him, but when you’re getting six assists from your power forward, that’s impressive. Walton made the PF position his own and is giving the Cavs another position where they can felicitate from.

While Anderson Varejao is out, Tristan Thompson continues to shine. He has recorded five double-doubles in six games, including his 17-point and 15-rebound performance tonight. Something I won’t let go unnoticed is his great free throw shooting tonight, going 7-of-8 from the line.

The Nets improved to 16-14 on the season and 2-0 under new interim head coach, P.J. Carlesimo.

Give the Cavs credit for letting the game get out of reach. They stayed within striking distance the whole game and went on a late run to put the Nets on their heels. Unfortunately they were unable to close a game out, again; just another sign of a young team. But with each heartbreaking loss like this, they continue to learn and grow from it. With more experience, the Cavs will eventually be on the other side of a loss like this.

Varejao and Daniel Gibson did not play tonight. But the Cavs have time to regroup and try to get healthy. The Cavs welcome in the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.