CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love is playing far better defense this season than his reputation would indicate. His two crucial fourth-quarter steals and blocked shot Tuesday only support that.

Love scored 24 points to go with his defensive work, and Kyrie Irving scored 32 points to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 128-120 victory against the Houston Rockets.

LeBron James added 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists on a night the Cavs shot 87 percent in the fourth quarter (13 of 15). For the first time since 2000-01, Cleveland is off to a 4-0 start.

"I thought the floor spacing was great," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "We were able to get downhill on a lot of pick-and-rolls and throw it back to (Love). And LeBron and Kyrie did a great job of getting downhill in that fourth quarter."

James Harden had a season-high 41 points and added 15 assists and seven rebounds for the Rockets. Houston (2-2) made 17 3-pointers in a losing effort.

Iman Shumpert's 3-pointer put the Cavs ahead 99-95, and Love's steal of Clint Capela on the Rockets' ensuing possession led to a 3-pointer in transition by Mike Dunleavy. When Love picked off a pass by Harden on Houston's next possession and converted himself at the other end with three free throws, the Cavs had their biggest lead of the night.

Love has six steals through four games by playing the passing lanes. His total ranks second on the team behind Shumpert's eight.

"I don't know what the stats say, but I'd bet you that statistically I'm not a bad defender, so to speak," Love said. "I think I read defenses relatively well. Obviously there's guys in this league that dominate the ball, like a Kyrie Irving or a Bron that just beats you to the lane. It's just very hard to play against them. There's a lot of guys even on that Warriors team that you saw in the Finals that are so good at that. It's just something I continue to try to get better at."

Irving began the night averaging 27.3 points in his career against Houston, his highest scoring mark against any team in the league. He scored 21 in the first half, 15 of them in the second quarter while James was sidelined.

James retreated to the locker room during the second quarter. Team physician Richard Parker accompanied James and the player's trainer, but James emerged as usual for the start of the third quarter and played his normal minutes in the second half. Lue said he simply had to use the restroom. The reigning Eastern Conference player of the week fell two assists shy of his second triple-double in four games.

Irving dominated in his absence and sealed the victory with a deep 3-pointer in the game's final minute.

"Kyrie is great, he's got it all," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "All you can do is hope he misses shots. You put a hand in his face to make it as difficult as possible."

Eric Gordon scored 16 points for the Rockets and Nene had 13 points and five rebounds off the bench. The Rockets had won their past four meetings at Quicken Loans Arena.

"You're playing against a team, especially on the road, and they make tough shots," Harden said. "They didn't miss the last five or six minutes of the game. Some shots we wanted to live with and some shots they just made. Good test for us."

The start time of the game was moved up an hour to minimize conflicting with the World Series. The Cleveland Indians hosted the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 across the street on Tuesday night.

NOTES: F/C Channing Frye rejoined the Cavs over the weekend following the death of his mother. Frye's first team function back was LeBron James' Halloween party Sunday night. Frye showed up in a Sons of Anarchy costume but didn't realize how serious Cavs players took their costumes. "I didn't know what I was getting into," he said. "I'm already planning for next year." ... Cleveland F Kevin Love wore his Indians jersey and cap to the game, and a number of players, including Love and Kyrie Irving, planned to go across the street and attend the final few games of the World Series at Progressive Field. ... Rockets G James Harden began the night as one of three NBA players averaging at least 20 points and 10 assists. The other two, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, were the players of the week in the East and West, respectively.