CLEVELAND - For Delonte West and the Cavaliers, late was definitely better than never - in more ways than one.

With West playing in his first game of the season, Cleveland coasted through the first half before pulling away to defeat the vastly inferior Charlotte Bobcats 90-79 Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena.

After an offseason arrest on weapons charges, two absences from training camp - one excused, one unexcused - and a domestic violence report by his wife, West played an instrumental role in helping the Cavaliers blow the game open.

The guard had seven points in just 1:43 as Cleveland went on a 9-0 run to go up 66-51 with 1:09 to play in the third period. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, two rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes.

“He kind of took over,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

West, who hasn’t spoken publicly since media day but could talk after practice on Monday, entered the game to a loud ovation with 4:22 to play in the first period.

Other than making a nice save that led to a Cleveland layup, he did little in 10 first-half minutes, but more than made up for it in his next stint on the court.

West got his first points on a 20-foot baseline jumper with 2:52 to play in the third period, added two free throws moments later, then buried a 3-pointer as Cleveland quickly turned a six-point lead into a 15-point margin.

West added two mid-range jumpers early in the fourth period, then later got a technical foul coming out of a timeout for protesting a charging call on J.J. Hickson.

“He really affected the game in a lot of different ways,” Brown said. “He’s a guy who can carry a team by himself. … Not only that, he’s a guy who can run your team.”

The decision to activate West, who suffers from bipolar disorder, was made by Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry after consulting with team doctors.

“Steps were followed,” Ferry said. “This is the next step of his process.”

The Cavaliers hope West will continue to play on a regular basis - he has a Nov. 20 court date in Maryland on the weapons charges and faces an almost certain NBA suspension when his legal matters are concluded - but if at some point it looks like he needs another break, his situation will be reevaluated.

“We’re excited to activate him,” Ferry said. “We’ll see where it goes from here.”

Nothing was too exciting about the first half, when a disinterested Cleveland team shot a sizzling 62.5 percent from the field (20-of-32) but scored just 45 points and led by only four. That’s because the Cavaliers committed eight turnovers, attempted just four free throws and got exactly one offensive rebound.

Cleveland really picked up its defense in the third period, holding the Bobcats to 13 points and 3-of-13 shooting, then blew the game open late in the quarter when West heated up.

“He’s important to our team,” said LeBron James, who had 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. “I’ve said it 20 times: He’s important to our team, just like everybody else. He knows how to play the game of basketball.”

Mo Williams, who made 5-of-8 3-pointers, led the Cavaliers with 24 points, while Anthony Parker had 13. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points and had five blocked shots in the first half.

Tip-ins

Shaquille O’Neal, who had eight points and five rebounds in another performance that wasn’t very impressive, was 0-of-10 at the line for the season until making two with 5:48 to go in the game.

• Jamario Moon fell almost totally out of the rotation, as he played just 1:37.

• Neither starting point guard played a particularly effective floor game, as Charlotte’s Raymond Felton had three assists and eight turnovers and Cleveland’s Williams had three assists and five turnovers.

• The Cavaliers, who made 9-of-16 from behind the arc, are 10-0 lifetime against Charlotte at The Q.

• The Bobcats were without guards Raja Bell (wrist) and Flip Murray (shin).

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

Cavaliers 90, Bobcats 79

CHARLOTTE (79): Wallace 4-11 3-4 11, Diaw 2-5 2-2 7, Chandler 3-5 2-4 8, Felton 5-12 0-0 10, Graham 3-5 0-0 6, Mohammed 2-7 0-0 4, Radmanovic 4-9 2-2 12, Augustin 2-5 6-8 11, Henderson 3-8 0-0 8, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Ajinca 1-1 0-0 2, Diop 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-68 15-20 79.

CLEVELAND (90): James 5-11 4-6 14, Varejao 3-4 0-0 6, O’Neal 3-7 2-4 8, M.Williams 9-14 1-2 24, Parker 5-8 0-0 13, Ilgauskas 5-5 0-0 10, West 5-7 2-2 13, Hickson 1-2 0-0 2, Gibson 0-3 0-0 0, Moon 0-1 0-0 0, J.Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-62 9-14 90.

Charlotte        21            20            13            25            —           79
Cleveland       25            20            21            24            –           90

3-Point Goals-Charlotte 6-13 (Radmanovic 2-3, Henderson 2-4, Augustin 1-2, Diaw 1-2, Graham 0-1, Felton 0-1), Cleveland 9-16 (M.Williams 5-8, Parker 3-4, West 1-2, James 0-1, Gibson 0-1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 39 (Wallace 9), Cleveland 36 (Varejao 8). Assists-Charlotte 19 (Diaw 9), Cleveland 22 (James 9). Total Fouls-Charlotte 13, Cleveland 20. Technicals-Ilgauskas, West. A-20,562 (20,562).

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