CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kevin Love does not love playing center.

He does not love, for instance, banging bodies with the 7-foot Joel Embiid, as he did for 25 annoying minutes in the Cavs' win Monday over Philadelphia.

And that's what made his season-high 38 points in 26 minutes against 7-footer Hassan Whiteside in Cleveland's 108-97 win over Miami Tuesday all the more impressive.

Having to slog through a post battle with an athletic, bruising center in Embiid one night, he came back and dominated against another traditional center in Whiteside.

"It's tough to answer that without getting myself in trouble," Love said. "There's a lot of big boys out there. It's no secret that ... it's funny to say I'm playing out of position, but I'm so used to being out there with Tristan (Thompson) and fighting for rebounds with him and knowing the rotations at the 4 spot, playing inside out from the 4 spot. It's definitely been a change playing the 5 and having to match up and go against guys and maybe giving up two, three, four inches and 20, 30 pounds.

"As far as guys helping me out on that end, it's not always going to be easy, but we're able to get the job done."

Love is 6-10 and 251 pounds. He's not exactly small, but his game is best suited for stretching the floor and rebounding alongside someone whose job it is to keep the biggest opposing player off the glass, i.e. Thompson.

But the Cavs entered the season wanting Love to play center because of the addition of Jae Crowder, a versatile defender who guard positions 2-4.

Coach Tyronn Lue changed course after three games and started Thompson at center with Love back at power forward, but on Nov. 1 Thompson suffered a strained left calf and hasn't played since.

Love's been playing center and, for the most part, has done the job well. He's averaging 18.7 points and leads the team with 10.0 rebounds per game this season, and is shooting .463 from the field (second-best percentage of his career).

Against the Heat, Love shot 10-of-16 from the field with four 3s and was 14-of-17 from the line. He scored 22 in the first quarter and 32 by halftime.

"I mean, he's had a tough stretch," coach Tyronn Lue said. "He had Dwight (Howard) twice and big (Andre) Drummond, Whiteside and Embiid so he's had a tough stretch. But he's played well and having him at that 5 position just causes defenses to...anytime we play against a shooting 5 it's tough for us also.

"So, you know, having Kevin stretching the floor but also rebounding the basketball is big for us."

Love and the Cavs made life quite difficult for Howard in a win over Charlotte on Nov. 15, when Love finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds to Howard's eight points and five boards.

In a win over Detroit on Nov. 20, it was 19 points and 11 rebounds and just eight points and eight boards for Drummond.

But on Monday, against the super athletic Embiid, Love struggled through with four fouls. He scored 13 points, but collected just three rebounds and shot 4-of-12. Embiid dominated with 30 points.

The Cavs won 113-91, and on this night it was Love's job to take the brunt of Embiid's force while Love's teammates neutralized the others.

"(Monday) night was particularly tough for me," Love said. "I even apologized to (LeBron James) in the fourth quarter. I got fouled on a 3 and I said, 'I'm sorry, tonight was tough, I got in foul trouble.' He said, 'You don't have to apologize for getting in foul trouble.' I thought I had to come out (Tuesday) and definitely be aggressive."

The Cavs have found comfort defensively with Love playing center. He blitzes pick and rolls while the other four on the court switch. If Thompson plays center when healthy, the Cavs would have to change defensive coverages again.

Love would prefer Thompson rejoins the starting unit, and he's not sorry about it.

Nor did he have any apologies to offer after his big night against the Heat.

"I've seen it before," James said. "You're on the floor and you've seen it before and you're trying to find him."