CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Matthew Dellavedova quipped about Larry Nance Jr. “gassing him up” in a sneaky attempt to receive more passes from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup point guard.

But Dellavedova’s recent play for the Cavs is no joke.

“It’s contagious,” Nance said of Dellavedova’s passing after Cleveland’s 111-98 win against last-place Phoenix. “You see guys like him, you see guys like Kevin (Love) out there making the extra pass when maybe they have a shot, but the better shot, it’s just contagious. Unselfishness is contagious.”

Early in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s matchup against the reeling Suns, the Cavs were leading by seven points. Dellavedova scooped up a loose ball and flung a one-handed pass like an NFL quarterback to a streaking David Nwaba, who had an easy dunk -- if he wanted it. Instead, Nwaba pivoted and flipped the ball behind to Nance for a two-handed hammer of his own, rewarding the big man for running the floor.

Then at the 2:32 mark of the fourth, Ante Zizic passed up a hook shot in the post, instead dropping a dime to Nance for another dunk.

Those are the kinds of unselfish plays the Cavs have been striving for all season, a point of frustration among players at different times. Dellavedova was, of course, the catalyst.

“That’s progress,” Nance said. “As a team I don’t know if we would have done that in the first half of the season, I really don’t.”

With Dellavedova on the court this season, the Cavs have an assist percentage of 61.4. With him off the floor, that number drops to 52.1. To put those numbers in perspective, that’s the difference between the league’s 12th-best mark and second worst.

It helps explain why Dellavedova has the second-best on/off differential in net rating, behind Nwaba.

On Thursday night, the Cavs finished with 34 assists on 42 made shots. That’s their highest assist percentage (81) this season, surpassing the previous mark by nearly 13 percentage points. The 34 assists finished one off the season-high mark of 35, which was set in the triple overtime loss to Brooklyn ahead of the All-Star break. Who do they think they are, the Golden State Warriors?

No, nobody is mistaking them for the Western Conference juggernaut that is likely to win the NBA title again. But, at the very least, the Cavs have found a lively, functional style on the offensive end.

Over the last two games, the Cavs have dished out 69 helpers on 96 made shots. Dellavedova has 24. Despite arriving in early December, Dellavedova has taken over the team lead in that category, averaging 4.3 in just 20.2 minutes.

“I think having a lot of the same guys and getting that continuation, you know how people like to play on offense and the plays within plays,” Dellavedova said. “I think we’ve done a good job of building that up and I think the last part of the season it’s only going to get better.

If it’s possible, Dellavedova has found his passing groove. He’s tossing lobs to Marquese Chriss and Nance. Dellavedova even threaded a bounce pass to a cutting Cedi Osman that still had his teammates in awe nearly an hour after the game.

“It’s been something we’ve been doing almost every game,” Osman said. “We’re just doing it once. That once works every time. Especially with me and JC (Jordan Clarkson), we’re trying to do the same thing.

“We enjoy it as a team. We play, we share the ball. I don’t know how many assists we had, but in the first half we had 17. I think we played great and we were having fun.”

Ah, yes, fun. A team with one of the league’s worst records is still playing with a commendable level of joy. And Dellavedova deserves plenty of credit for that. His sharing style leads to that. It’s also boosted the team’s level of play, going 4-6 over the last 10 contests.

On the season, the Cavs still rank 28th in assists, averaging 20.9, only better than ISO-heavy Houston and the horrible Knicks who are hoping for their salvation this summer. But during this better-than-expected stretch, Cleveland is averaging 25.6 dimes, which ranks 16th.

The rise has led to more playing time for Dellavedova as well. In the near-upset against Brooklyn, he played the final 30 minutes without a break. On Thursday night, Drew once again turned to Dellavedova as his closer, re-inserting the steady veteran for Clarkson at the 4:13 mark of the fourth quarter.

Finishing games hasn’t always been Cleveland’s strength. In the aftermath of LeBron James’ departure, the team needed to learn how to win once again. Against reeling Phoenix, Drew didn’t want to let the team throw another away. Dellavedova assisted on the two ensuing possessions, helping them boost the lead to 15, all but sealing the victory. He added two more helpers in the final few minutes, raising his total to a team-high 11.

“I thought Delly did a phenomenal job going down the stretch making the right plays, the right passes,” said Drew. “That’s how you have to finish games.”