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CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers avenged their opening-night collapse by thoroughly outplaying the Philadelphia 76ers for 48 minutes, leading to a 119-95 victory.

Three stars of the game

First star: Donovan Mitchell

23 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds

The Cavs need Mitchell to look to get teammates involved, but that can’t come at the expense of his aggressiveness. The start to this game was the prime example of the balance you want to see from Mitchell.

Mitchell got the scoring going with two layups attacking the basket and then a running jumper in transition in the first minute and a half of the game. That opened up avenues for him to find his teammates, which he did during the rest of the first quarter, resulting in three assists.

That opening set the tempo for what was a complete game from Mitchell. He was the undisputed best player on the court. It’s no surprise the Cavs won the minutes he played by 28.

“He feels the moment, he knows we needed this win,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He made some great passes too. He was very aggressive tonight.”

Second star: Evan Mobley

22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Mobley filled in admirably for Jarrett Allen at center. He controlled the paint on both ends and showed his range as a shooter, going 3-for-4 from deep. Comfortably hitting threes like he has been this season opens up Cleveland’s entire offense and allows him to easily fit at the four and the five. This was the ideal version of Mobley.

“He’s really playing great basketball,” Atkinson said.

Third star: Mario Hezonja

15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

The Cavs needed rebounding and a scoring punch from the bench considering who was out of the lineup. Hezonja provided both. He took advantage of mismatches inside, going 4-for-4 on shots inside the arc.

Hezonja is slowly becoming an integral part of this team. His presence has become invaluable over the first nine games.

Duds of the game

LeBron James

8 points on 3-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 turnovers

You could make a convincing argument that the Cavs would be at the top of the conference if James chose them in free agency instead. Cleveland has dropped games due to a failure to close out contests and poor rebounding. James would help immensely in both aspects. That said, those benefits didn’t exactly come through in this dreadful performance.

James wasn’t able to establish any kind of rhythm. He couldn’t create any separation whenever he attacked off the dribble, and he wasn’t able to get out into the open court. On top of that, he had only two more points than he had giveaways. That all added up to arguably his worst professional game ever played in Cleveland.

Joel Embiid

6 points on 0-of-9, 7 rebounds, 1 assist

Embiid struggled mightily. He had a difficult time getting around Mobley and generating clean looks. This resulted in going 0-for-9 from the field. On the other end, he couldn’t move laterally quickly enough to hang with Mobley.

Cavalier who deserves a shoutout

Peyton Watson

13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists

This wasn’t a standout offensive performance, but his energy and effort on the glass made him a difference maker. That matters for a player who is being asked to fill very different roles depending on who he’s sharing the court with.

Play of the game

Meleek Thomas plays with a confidence that can’t be taught. Sequences like this show that.

LeBron got the mismatch against Thomas, except the rookie didn’t realize that it was a mismatch. Thomas held his ground, and then forced a steal that led to a basket on the other end.

“He’s talented, man,” Atkinson said of Thomas.

Quote of the day

“Nothing can get as worse as December 2, 2010, from a reception standpoint. I’ve seen the end of the depths of hell when it comes to reception here, all the way to the heavens above. So anything in between is easy money.”

– LeBron James on his return to Cleveland

Cavs fans gave James a respectful, but apathetic welcome home.

Stat of the game

The Cavs took 43% of their shots at the rim (92nd percentile). This allowed them to outscore the Sixers 50-30 in the paint.

Cleveland’s offense is at its best when it’s getting inside. They were able to do that with ease on Friday.

Main takeaway from this game: This is what the best version of the Cavs looks like

Consistency has been an issue for the Cavs this season. They showed glimpses of how good they can be, but had yet to show it for 48 minutes against a quality opponent. Even in their impressive win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, they struggled for prolonged stretches in the first half. This game, however, was different, due to the contributions of their three stars.

Mitchell, James Harden, and Mobley all fulfilled their roles perfectly. Mitchell was dynamic on ball as a scorer and passer. That energy carried the offense. Harden battled defensively and kept the offense on schedule. His steady hand helped Cleveland maintain their grasp of the game. Mobley controlled the paint on both ends, taking advantage of his slower frontcourt opponents.

There’s a downstream effect to the stars playing well. The rest of the rotation was able to more easily slot into their roles, even though they were shorthanded. Players like Meleek Thomas, Tyrese Proctor, and Mario Hezonja have much simpler and more defined roles when they’re able to play off the stars and aren’t forced to pick up the slack. That makes it easier for them to excel, as they did.

This all added up to a convincing and thorough beatdown of the team with the most wins in the league while also being the antithesis of the opening-night collapse.

The Cavs have shown incredible highs and low lows through nine games. At this point, we don’t know who this team will be on a night-to-night basis, and they haven’t quite discovered their identity. Yet, the talent is there. If they can put the pieces together, they have the potential to be dangerous.