"Only one thing mattered to Antawn Jamison on Tuesday night.

"'I want to win," he said after the Cavaliers won their third straight game -- all on the road -- with a 93-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets in Prudential Center. "That's the most important thing."

So forget that he was coming off the bench instead of starting. Forget that his bum left knee had kept him out of the three previous games. Forget that he was shooting just 31.8 percent coming into the game.

On Tuesday night, he made six of 10 shots for 15 points as the Cavs' bench outscored the Nets' reserves, 52-15. In fact, the bench outscored the starters, 52-41.

"At the beginning of the season, we thought our bench would be one of our strong points," coach Byron Scott said as his team improved to 4-3 and maintained first place in the Central Division.

It's just that Jamison wasn't thrilled with the notion of being part of it. Oh, he said all the right things. A true professional, the 12-year veteran would always agree to do what was right for the team. But that doesn't mean he liked it.

"Early on, it was tough to swallow," he admitted. "I'm a competitor. That's the reason why I got to this point. But we have a great group of guys. I'm glad to be here.

"I've just got to put all that behind me, go out there and play and have fun and do the things I normally do." "