LeBron James' four straight three-pointers put Cleveland ahead by 20 in the second quarter. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images

If anyone was wondering if LeBron James can take his game to a new level, the answer is “yes,” as James went 6-of-7 from behind the arc – including four straight treys – netting 31 points as the new-look Cavaliers dismantled the New Orleans Hornets, 109-87, in the home opener at Quicken Loans Arena.

The scrappy Hornets were coming off a blowout win over the favored Kings in Oklahoma City, but they ran out of gas early at The Q as the Wine and Gold jumped out to a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back. By the time Luke Jackson drilled a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, Cleveland’s lead had ballooned to 26.

Mike Brown got his first win as an NBA head coach. Naturally, following the benchmark victory, Coach Brown wanted to talk defense. "Defensively we want to communicate, help, and trust one another in the system. I thought as the game went along we got better.”

LeBron’s barrage took place in a span of 1:44 in the second quarter. The sold-out crowd – as well as his mates on the bench – begged LBJ to stick another three-pointer and he accommodated them four-fold. When LeBron sunk his fourth homerun ball over David West from the top of the arc, all the young King could do was blow on his hot hand. It was reminiscent of Michael Jordan’s shoulder shrug in the 1992 Finals, when he couldn’t seem to miss on one three-point attempt after another.

"When you are on fire like that, you just have to keep taking them," quipped James following the win. "You can take them from anywhere, and hopefully they go in."

But LeBron was hardly the only Cavalier to shine in the inaugural contest of the 2005-06 season.

Donyell Marshall, one of the free agent acquisitions of this past off-seasons, followed up with 18 points and nine boards, going 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Overall, Marshall shot 6-of-9 from the floor and the Cavaliers as a team went off for 53 percent. They were an eye-popping 62 percent (13-of-21) from three-point range.

"You can’t get too excited over one game, but hopefully this is a sign of things to come over the season and we can build from there," said Marshall. "I have always thought that the early part of the season is very important."

Three other Cavaliers notched double figures for Cleveland. Zydrunas Ilgauskas went 5-for-10 in only 25 minutes of action, netting a dozen points and seven boards. And Damon Jones, who brought a big spark off the bench, turned in a 12-point performance of his own.

Larry Hughes rounded out the Cavs in double-digits, notching 10 points. But Hughes, as advertised, did all the little things. The former Billiken also grabbed three boards, dished six dimes, registered two steals and a blocked shot.

Drew Gooden grabbed eight boards – all in the first quarter – and tallied seven points in the win.

The young Hornets were led by Speedy Claxton, who scored 16 points off Byron Scott’s bench. High-flying sophomore J.R. Smith added 15 points for New Orleans/OK City and impressive rookie Chris Paul chipped in with 13. Chris Andersen and David West rounded out the Hornets in double-figures, netting 11 points apiece.

"From the beginning of the game, it looked like we were scared. That’s the bottom line," said Hornets coach Byron Scott. "We looked like we were intimidated and we came out very soft."

The Cavaliers out-raced the road weary Hornets, running up a 21-10 advantage on the fast break. Cleveland also muscled them on the boards, 43-33.

The Wine and Gold don’t have a whole lot of time to savor the win. They’ll practice on Thursday before heading west to take on the world champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday night at the SBC Center. After that it’s two more on the road – at Memphis and Toronto – before returning to The Q next Wednesday for a matchup with the Sonics.