Even the usually calm and soft-spoken Lamond Murray had reason for excitement last night.

Murray, you see, returned to action for the first time since injuring his back against Indiana on Dec. 22. And he returned with a bang.

Murray had an all-star performance last night behind a career-high 40 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 113-98 victory over Golden State at Gund Arena.

It was the most points scored by a Cav since the late Bobby Phills scored 43 points in double overtime on Dec. 30, 1995. Brad Daugherty had 44 points during regulation on April 15, 1988. The 113 points were a season-high for the Cavs.

Murray, who went to college (California) in the Bay Area, continued his offensive onslaught against the Warriors. Murray's previous high was 38 against Golden State on Jan. 21, 2000. He has averaged 27 points a game in his last three games against the Warriors.

"I play against those guys during the summer and it's more about being comfortable because they know my game and I know their game," said Murray, who was 16-of-23 from the field. "Obviously, when I play back home I have more incentive but tonight it just came with the flow of the game."

And that flow started early. With the score tied, 6-6, the Cavs closed out the first quarter with a 25-10 run.

Jumaine Jones capped the spurt by banging in a buzzer-beater from 59 feet. The Cavs led, 31-16, and Murray had 15 points.

Ricky Davis could see Murray's tidal wave of points coming.

"That first quarter told me he was going to have a good game," Davis said. "Once he gets rolling like that, it's hard to stop him."

Murray also felt the groove.

"I felt it during the first quarter," Murray said. "My shot was falling and I was trying to mix it up by getting to the basket and shooting the jump shot. I wanted to give them more to think about."

Golden State put more on the Cavs' minds during the second quarter. The Warriors (12-19) began the second period with a 16-7 run and trailed by six with 6:09 left before halftime. Golden State continued to fight back, and Larry Hughes' consecutive free throws cut the Cavs' lead to 54-52 at the half.

Cavs coach John Lucas had some words at halftime.

"He told us that we needed to play with more energy," Murray said. "They were coming with so much energy against us and we had to match it."

Match it indeed.

The score was tied at 72 with 4:16 left in the third. Wes Person, who finished with 18 points, began a 16-4 spurt with a trey. Chris Mihm, who finished with 13, followed with a score. Murray followed that with a trey. Antawn Jamison provided the Warriors' with a score, but the Cavs capped their spurt and ended the third behind Person's jumper for an 88-78 lead.

Jones had a close call near the end of the third when he collided with a Golden State player. Jones suffered a cut on his scalp and received seven stitches. He left the game but returned to action during the fourth quarter with a huge patch.

The Warriors went cold during the fourth. They didn't score their first field goal until 6:04 remained. By that time, the Cavs (13-18) held a comfortable 95-81 lead. It was just a matter of Murray getting his career high.

"We had no answer for him," said Golden state coach Brian Winters. "He just came off screens and got open and he made about every shot he took. He plays against our guys in the fall and he grew up in the Bay Area. He knows where it's going back on TV. I knew he would have a good game."

Entering last night's game, the Cavs had lost three out of four without Murray. He was missed.

"We won a game without him, but we really missed him." Lucas said. "He's carried us and done a lot of great things. I haven't seen a guy get on a roll like that in a long time. Lamond was outstanding."