Late in the first quarter of a January game that came during a miserable stretch of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball, LeBron James' mastery of the sport created temporary calm amid the Cavs' collapse.

James connected on a pull-up jumper from the left wing in San Antonio, making him just the seventh player in NBA history to surpass the 30,000-point mark in his career.

When the final 1.1 seconds of the period ticked off the clock after James' momentous bucket, he exhaled and walked back toward the Cavs bench. Dwyane Wade was the first person to meet him, offering an extended embrace.

"D-Wade has been my guy since we came into the league," James said after the game. "For him to be here tonight as my teammate reaching that feat, it meant everything to me. He's a guy I'd do anything for. You guys know that. ... It was a special moment."

For 46 games, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were teammates in Cleveland. That run ended when Wade was traded to Miami in February. David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports

When the Cavs acquired Wade in late September, there figured to be plenty of special moments for James and Wade. They teamed up on the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014, wreaking havoc on the league with four straight NBA Finals runs and two championships.

"It's a guy -- come on, man -- this is like one of my best friends," James said the day Cleveland signed Wade. "It's kind of like when you start school and you walk into the classroom and you're not quite sure who your classmates are and when you walk in there and one of your best friends is in there, you're like, 'Oh, yeah, this is going to be fun. It's going to be a good class.' That's the type of feeling I got."

Wade, who forfeited nearly $8 million of his $23.8 million salary for 2017-18 when he negotiated a buyout from the Chicago Bulls, received interest from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Heat, the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors before selecting Cleveland as his destination.

"Man, for me, I was very appreciative of him choosing us," Cavs general manager Koby Altman told ESPN last week when asked to reflect on Wade's 46 games with the franchise.

For James, teaming up with Wade once again seemed almost destined.

"I always felt like it could happen again before our careers were done," James told ESPN. "Didn't know when. I never put a [timeline on it]. I just felt like it could happen to me. And I didn't know if it was going to be in Cleveland. I didn't know where the hell we were going to be. I just always felt it. When he was able to work out that buyout, man, it was like the intuition became the truth. That's all."

Cleveland was getting a three-time champion, a future first-ballot Basketball Hall of Famer, a shooting guard who could fill some of the scoring void created after the Kyrie Irving trade -- for the low, low price of a veteran's minimum contract worth $2.3 million. For a luxury-tax-laden team like the Cavs, it felt like divine intervention.

But the blessed union took a turn for the worse almost immediately, according to sources.

First, when bringing on Wade meant needing to trade away popular locker room presence Richard Jefferson to create an open roster spot. Then, when Wade balked at Cavs coach Tyronn Lue's plan to bring him off the bench. Wade, insisting he was more comfortable playing the starting role he had filled his entire 15-year NBA career, started the Cavs' first three games and struggled mightily, shooting 7-for-25 from the field.

After a blowout loss to the Orlando Magic in the third game, Wade approached Lue about coming off the bench, as Lue initially suggested. JR Smith, displaced by Wade's addition, went back into the starting unit, but the damage was done: The demotion affected Smith mentally, and his on-court production dipped.

Coming off the bench didn't suit Wade at first, either. After an 0-for-5 shooting night in 15 minutes of a Nov. 11 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, James had to defend his friend from being labeled "washed."

"He'll be fine," James said. "He'll be fine. D-Wade is 36 years old. He'll be fine. He knows how to play this game. He just struggled tonight, but I'm not worried about him. He'll be fine."

Sure enough, he was fine. Wade eventually took to the bench role, becoming the leader of the second unit. James and Wade, who nicknamed themselves "Peanut Butter and Jelly" in a preseason interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols, took on new monikers: Joe Montana and Steve Young.

"That's what we've got him here for," said James, who made the quarterback comparison. "He's our second-string leader. He makes sure those guys are ready to go."

play 1:13 LeBron happy Wade gets Miami homecoming LeBron James reveals how and when he found out about Dwyane Wade's trade to the Heat.

Wade got himself going, too. The Cavs went 18-1 during a stretch starting with the November win over the Mavs and ending with a 106-99 win over the Washington Wizards on Dec. 17.

Wade played 17 games in the stretch and averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range -- a skill he supposedly lacked. The Cavs' net rating with Wade on the court was plus-15.5 during the team's hot streak.

James even endorsed the former NBA Finals MVP for an unlikely piece of hardware: the Sixth Man of the Year trophy.

"He's probably the No. 1 candidate," James said in the middle of the Cavs' tear. "Not even being biased, that's one of my best friends. Just looking at the teams. Eric Gordon has had to start a lot this season because [Chris Paul] was out. [Andre] Iguodala's been out a little bit, you look at Manu [Ginobili], you look at Jamal Crawford ... those are sixth man guys, right? D-Wade would probably be leading that right now, but there's a long way to go."

James was prescient once again. A downturn would follow for the Cavs, leading to Wade's ticket out of Cleveland.