LeBron James, Cavaliers win eighth straight

— -- PHILADELPHIA -- The once ridiculed and now widely praised "process" being embarked upon by the 76ers adjusted its gaze from the hope of future glory to a litmus test in the present on Monday, when the current kings of the Eastern Conference came to town.

And LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers thwarted the Sixers' attempt to wrest the crown from atop their heads, as determined as it might have been.

"This is like NBA royalty," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said before the game. "And you don't back away from it. You're not intimidated by it. You embrace it. I said a while ago, the group isn't coming here looking for autographs. We're here to win a game."

Cleveland won, however, 113-91, recording its eighth straight victory -- despite the All-Star point guard it traded for in the offseason donning street clothes, the former MVP point guard it signed in the summer on a self-imposed exile and its starting shooting guard reeling from the death of a family member.

And those plucky processors from Philly put a scare in yet another championship contender; the only losses in the Sixers' past seven games are to the Cavs and the Golden State Warriors.