CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Matthew Dellavedova walked into Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night as the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After more than two years away in Milwaukee, floundering on the bench and failing to live up to his contract, he was back in the building where his legend started to grow.

Wearing an all-black suit, Dellavedova strolled down the hall and went by the old locker room entrance with a smile on his face. Security guards cheered his return.

"Welcome back Delly," they shouted with excitement.

About an hour later, as Dellavedova met with members of the media, fans plastered themselves up against the windows at a nearby hang-out spot adjacent to the player's tunnel. They snapped photos, captured video and pounded on the glass to get his attention, wanting a close-up with the beloved Cavalier who endeared himself during the franchise's best times.

That night, fans only got a brief moment to reconnect, as a mini-tribute video was shown and "Reunited" played through the speakers inside The Q while old teammates mobbed him.

It was just the prelude. Wednesday night was the climax.

Dellavedova popped off the bench for the first time at the 4:14 mark of the first quarter, replacing rookie Collin Sexton. Dellavedova was greeted by cheers -- fans standing on their feet and holding up signs in his honor. It was the kind of boisterous ovation typically reserved for the team's best.

When he buried his first two shots against the Knicks, a pair of 3-pointers, the arena went ballistic.

"He's a folk hero," Kevin Love told cleveland.com. "Bron will have a statue outside and Delly will have a little, smaller one."

In Dellavedova's second game back with the Cavs -- and first at The Q -- he poured in a season-high 15 points off the bench in 22 minutes. It's the second time he's reached double figures this season -- both games with Cleveland.

Despite being on a minute restriction, Dellavedova was part of the team's closing lineup, turning back New York point guard Emmanuel Mudiay on a go-ahead drive and then recovering in time to challenge his shot with 17 seconds left. Moments later, with the Cavs clinging to a three-point lead, Dellavedova stymied New York's out-of-bounds play, racing to cover a pair of Knicks while giving the tenacious effort that everyone remembered so fondly. It led to a turnover.

"Thought he did a terrific job," head coach Larry Drew said. "Not just from the shots he made, but that last possession where they took it out on the side and I don't know how many people even noticed, but Delly was on the ball and they started their play and he did a phenomenal job of tracking the ball on the inbounds and it forced a turnover. We as a staff we look at that and that was to perfection. He just brings so many intangibles to the game. Things that we really need on this team."

After Larry Nance Jr. stole the ball away, he tossed it to Dellavedova who was fouled before walking to the free-throw line. Fans once again showed their appreciation.

MVP, MVP, MVP.

"I was leading the MVP chants," Nance told cleveland.com. "Yeah, he deserved it. Good to see them rally behind him like that. It was awesome. It was cool to see the city rally behind him. Granted I was in L.A. but I was tuned into my Cavs while he was doing his thing here."

Nance grew up in this area. He understands the fan base, probably better than any player inside that locker room. When he was a high school star at nearby Revere, he remembers the fanfare surrounding Anderson Varejao -- a player like Dellavedova who built his reputation on toughness, hustle and passion.

"Because Delly's not one of us, but he is," Nance said when asked about Dellavedova's popularity. "He's a hard-nosed, dive on the floor, grit, fight, leave it all on the court type of guy. At least for me growing up a Cleveland fan, that is the type of guy -- Anderson is the perfect example. You love guys like that. No matter what happens, good or bad, they are giving their all. That's what Delly is and it's infectious for the team really."

Everyone has a favorite Dellavedova memory, something to add to his story. For Tristan Thompson, it was the IV game, when Dellavedova tired himself out trying to contain Golden State star Stephen Curry in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. So exhausted, Dellavedova ended up in the hospital that night.

Channing Frye lights up when thinking about Delly getting his own coffee line and having his own logo. Some will remember Dellavedova's importance in Cleveland's 2015 Eastern Conference finals series win against the Chicago Bulls -- the big shots Dellavedova made while stepping in for an injured Kyrie Irving.

Love recalls the championship parade.

"He was in the car right behind me," Love told cleveland.com. "However long the parade ended up being, all I heard the whole time was 'Del-ly, Del-ly, Del-ly.' All these cheers, I was thinking maybe LeBron or Kyrie were behind me and they were saving the best for last. It was Delly."

The Dellavedova-Cleveland fairy tale is a script that writes itself.

Like Cleveland, Dellavedova has always been counted out. A shooting guard out of high school, Dellavedova was a three-star recruit ranked 72nd at his position. He ended up at St. Mary's -- not exactly a basketball power. Even after finishing his college career as the school's all-time leader in scoring, assists, games played, free throw percentage, and three-point shots, he went undrafted and had to work his way onto Cleveland's roster and then into its rotation.

Sometimes undersized, he never backed down from a challenge, tussling with Al Horford and Taj Gibson in the playoffs. He pestered opponents at every turn, even getting labeled "dirty" by some of them.

His blue-collar nature and unrelenting work ethic mirrors the city well. He's had to scrap and fight for everything. Who doesn't love an underdog story, especially in a city that gets poked at repeatedly because of sports shortcomings?

Now he's back, sparking a pile of unforgettable memories, eager to make new ones.

Just like Wednesday night, as he received a (folk) hero's welcome -- a near-standing ovation and MVP chants while helping the undermanned Cavaliers to an unexpected 113-106 win.

"It's awesome," Dellavedova said. "I mean, I really appreciate the support of everybody and I love the fans here and I appreciate everything they do. Just try to give back to them playing hard and doing what I can."