This NBA season so far has been defined by bonkers scoring exploits. It's not that the defenses aren't good, it's that the offenses are flat out unbelievable on both team and individual levels. And two of the three best teams in the NBA took that to new levels in the first half of blowout victories Wednesday.

First, the Cleveland Cavaliers scored 81 first-half points against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers, shooting 59 percent and hitting 16 3-pointers. Then, hours later, the Golden State Warriors scored 80 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, shooting 62 percent from the field and hitting 11 3-pointers.

You get the sense that the Warriors, on top of being motivated by revenge vs. the Lakers after losing to them by 20 two weeks ago, saw what the Cavaliers did and wanted to top it. These two teams continue to eye one another from across the conference lines, with a Christmas meeting looming.

So the question is: Which half of basketball was better?

Tough question. Might be impossible to answer. But let's take a look, anyway.

Case for the Cavs

First, the essential numbers Cleveland put up in the first 24 minutes vs. Portland:

Field goal percentage: 59 percent

3-pointers made: 16

Fast-break points: 8

Shot chart:

cavsfirsthalfvsblazers.jpg

That's a lot of green around the arc, and just a superb overall chart. Portland never had a chance.

High scorer:

Kevin Love

Love set an NBA record for most points in a first quarter with 34, and the second-most for a single quarter behind the 37-point third quarter Klay Thompson put on the Kings last year. So unconscious was Love that we barely noticed LeBron's amazing first-half line of 13 points, 12 assists and five boards. That's how good the Cavs were Wednesday. Love broke an NBA record and might well have been upstaged by his teammate.

Highlights: Kevin Love, of course:

Most impressive number:

16 3-pointers

That number is pretty bonkers, five more than the Warriors hit, which would actually make sense as the Cavs have, believe it or not, made more 3s on the season than the Warriors. And the 16-for-22 line is equally bonkers. It's obviously a close call with Love's 34 points, but a team-wide performance like that gets the edge.

Caveats: The Blazers were on a back-to-back, missing Al-Farouq Aminu and Festus Ezeli, and gave up 81 points last season in a half. Guess who they gave up that 81 points to? The Golden State Warriors. The Blazers now have the 30th-ranked defense in the league.

klove34.jpg
Kevin Love had 34 in a quarter Wednesday. USATSI

Case for the Warriors

First, the numbers:

Field goal percentage: 62 percent

3-pointers made: 11

Fast-break points: 18

Shot chart:

warriorsvslakersfirsthalf.jpg

Again, a lot of green in that chart, largely because Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant each had more points than minutes played in the first half. That is wild.

High scorer: Steph Curry

With 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, Curry was ... well ... Curry, which was a welcome sight as Steph had gone 3 for 23 from downtown during his previous three games, and of course was 0 for 10 in the Warriors' aforementioned loss to the Lakers a few weeks back. Oh, and Curry also had six assists.

As a footnote, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson combined for 33. So far this year we are watching, statistically speaking, the greatest offensive team in NBA history.

Highlights: Curry! Curry! Curry! Curry! Curry!

And the sweet assist to boot:

Most impressive number: 26 assists on 29 buckets

OK, this is insane. An assist ratio of 90 percent. That's unheard of. Granted, most of it was because the Lakers couldn't stay attached to anyone off a single screen, but still. It's just mind-blowing what the Warriors do with their ball movement.

Caveats: The Lakers, who are plucky but still were one of the worst teams in the league last season, were without Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell. But then, both of those players actually have negative net ratings on vs. off court. The Lakers were also on a road back-to-back, just like Portland. And finally, you knew the Warriors would put the hammer down after the Lakers blew them out two weeks ago.

So which was better?

I can't decide.

I look forward to the comments on this one.