INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- It was late January in Chicago when head coach Larry Drew pulled rookie Collin Sexton out of the game around the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Drew turned to steady veteran Matthew Dellavedova -- a teaching moment for Sexton, a needed move for Cleveland to polish off a rare victory.

Since then, Dellavedova has become more of a fixture in the closing group.

“He’s been just awesome since he’s gotten here,” Larry Nance Jr. said of Dellavedova. “Just being a veteran presence and somebody we can all look to as this is how you should play. Night in and night out giving it his all, as unselfish as you can possibly ask for. He’s been the ultimate professional. So hopefully we’ve got Collin, Cedi (Osman), Marquese (Chriss), our young guys are kind of taking note of how he handles himself.”

Sure looks like Dellavedova’s influence is starting to rub off.

During Cleveland’s most recent win against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Cavs rebuffed a late-game push. Sexton and Osman were at the center of that, hitting timely shots and not panicking despite Memphis’ increased pressure. So, too, were Nance and Ante Zizic. Dellavedova, of course, was the one leading the way.

“It’s great to have Delly in those moments,” Osman told cleveland.com. “He helps keep us together, keeps us from speeding up.”

When the Cavs entered the season, George Hill was supposed to be one of the late-game anchors, grooming young Sexton to be the team’s future point guard, showing him the winning way. The Cavs believed there would be times when Sexton would watch Hill from the sidelines in crunch time, seeing firsthand and taking mental notes on how to run the team in pressure moments. Other times the two would share the court, giving Sexton that needed hands-on experience. Maybe Sexton would even be the orchestrator, the ball in his hands determining success or failure that night -- an experiment that led to mixed results.

When Hill was shipped off to Milwaukee in a three-team deal, it was important for the Cavs to acquire Dellavedova, wanting him to take over as Sexton’s mentor while also serving as the reliable backup point guard that Drew could call on when Sexton got out of control. Just like that matinee game in Chicago.

Yes, the Cavs always wanted Sexton to get in-game experience during crunchtime. But how valuable could that really be if it led to him looking overwhelmed and frantic?

On Friday night, Sexton was anything but. It’s not a coincidence that he was sharing the floor with Dellavedova at that time -- a calming influence keeping a bulk of the burden from falling on the 20-year-old first-round pick.

Dellavedova’s passing has become infectious. He keeps the ball moving. He always strives to get everybody involved. He barks out the plays from opponents, making sure there is constant communication, which is something that lacked from this timid, Kevin Love-less group earlier this season. Dellavedova gets the team into the right sets, making sure the late-game offense doesn’t turn into a mad scramble with the shot clock winding down. He doesn’t get hurried and rarely makes mistakes, averaging 0.7 turnovers in 6.6 fourth quarter minutes.

“When you’re out there that’s when you start learning, especially certain plays in crunch time that you can go to,” Sexton said. “I feel like with him out there we both feed off each other.”

The point guard tandem has logged just 98 minutes together, with 41 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Moving forward, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Dellavedova stick as one of the fourth-quarter closers, surrounded by the young core, letting the reliable pro continue to show them the right way.