HOUSTON -- The Cavaliers are now off to their worst start since ... three years ago.

Wait, what?

Yes, following a 117-113 loss to the Houston Rockets Thursday, the Cavs' record dropped to 5-7. Five wins and seven losses was their record in 2014-15 through 12 games.

That season ended with a 4-2 loss in the Finals to the Warriors with Kevin Love's arm in a sling and Kyrie Irving's leg in a cast.

The Cavs' start to this season has not gone how anyone envisioned. They are not only the league's worst defensive team, but the 113 points per 100 possessions they allow is on course for the worst defensive rating in history.

No one gives up more 3s per game than Cleveland at 13.6. If that number holds, it's also the worst the NBA has ever seen.

And, yes, the Cavs' four-game losing streak earlier this season was by a combined 63 points, the worst point differential in any four-game stretch of LeBron James' career.

But to look at it from a, let's say, slightly different angle, Thursday night's four-point loss to the Rockets was the first time this Cavs team lost a game in which they cared and tried for four quarters.

The other four games in which they were actually paying attention -- the opener against Boston, two games against Milwaukee, and one last week in Washington -- were all wins.

"Tough part about it is when it doesn't result in wins all the time," Dwyane Wade said. "We're definitely getting there, we're definitely getting better."

Cleveland trailed by as many as 18 and bullied its way back to a halftime lead. The Rockets shot 22 more free throws and made 18 more foul shots than the Cavs. Cleveland shot .556 from the field, making this the first game since Dec. 15, 1999 the Cavs lost a game in which they shot that well. They had won their last 48.

Yes, Houston's James Harden scored 35 points to go with 13 assists and 11 rebounds Thursday, but 13 of his points came at the foul line.

James scored 33 points, fine. Throw in Jeff Green's 27 off the bench. Take away those loose balls the Cavs couldn't corral at the end, and maybe they leave Houston with a win against a team currently tied for the best record in the West.

"Tonight I thought with the effort and energy, we play like that every night, we'll be a lot better," Lue said.

The Cavs' biggest problem this season, the reason for the losing record to date, has been a lack of energy and effort against the supposed bottom-feeders of the East, caused by apathy from three straight Finals and expectations of a fourth.

Losses to teams like the Magic and the Knicks and the Hawks and the Pacers and the Nets.

The Dallas Mavericks are the NBA's worst team at 2-10. They host the Cavs Saturday. James turned his ankle in the first quarter against the Rockets, but said he'd get treatment and play Saturday.

The Cleveland team that started 5-7 three seasons ago changed dramatically in January, when then-GM David Griffin traded for J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov. The team scuffled to a 19-20 record before finally turning things around.

These Cavs already have eight new players from last year's Finals group, and it remains to be seen if any big trades will be in the offing as the season progresses. But at some point they'll add Isaiah Thomas, a two-time All-Star and All-NBA point guard who was third in the league in scoring last year.

Starting center Tristan Thompson has resumed traveling with the team after suffering a left calf strain last week. It could keep him out a month. And Derrick Rose has missed five of the team's 12 games.

Their return can have the impact of multiple deadline deals.

In the meantime, the 2014-15 Cavs won their next eight games after dipping to 5-7.

Life seems harder for the Cavs of today, but they've shown themselves to be a team capable of great things when they're paying attention.

The near-miss in Houston was just the latest example.

"I like the way we played," James said. "We stuck to our game plan for close to 48 minutes. No matter what was going on, the fouls that were called at times. It looked like it could've gone our way, some that didn't go our way, the stepback 3s that James was hitting, you've got to live with something.

"We played a pretty good game, but I'm not here for moral victories. That's not what I'm about."