Spurs at Cavaliers
The San Antonio Spurs are struggling to keep the pace in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They'll try to finish a three-game road trip on a good note when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
After winning the opener of the trip at Charlotte, the Spurs were run off the court in a 139-120 setback at Brooklyn on Friday in head coach Gregg Popovich's return to the sideline following a one-game layoff. "It was embarrassing defense," Popovich told reporters after the Nets shot 53.1 percent and had 32 assists against San Antonio, which is 4 1/2 games behind eighth-place Memphis. The Cavaliers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 104-102 win over Denver on Saturday. Kevin Love led three players with at least 20 points by scoring 27 and Matthew Dellavedova recorded a career-high 14 assists as Cleveland shot 55.3 percent from the floor and rallied from an early double-digit deficit.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southwest, FS Ohio
ABOUT THE SPURS (26-35): The team was hoping to get star forward LaMarcus Aldridge back from a shoulder injury Friday but the veteran aggravated the injury and remains day-to-day. DeMar DeRozan did his best to keep San Antonio in it against the Nets with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go along with nine assists. Trey Lyles chipped in 19 points while making 5-of-7 from 3-point range, which left him 27-of-54 from beyond the arc since the start of February.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (18-45): Collin Sexton finished with 25 points in Saturday's win and is averaging 32.7 points on 59.1 percent shooting in three games this month. Love scored 12 of his 27 in the fourth quarter - including the final seven for Cleveland - as the team improved to 4-5 under interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "We're really locked in defensively, I think that's what's been getting us so much better on the offensive end," Love told Fox Sports Ohio in a postgame interview. ". ... It's been good for us. We're playing really well together, we're playing for each other."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs SF Rudy Gay is averaging 14.3 points - nearly five over his season mark - on 54.8 percent shooting over his last four games.
2. Cavaliers C Andre Drummond (calf), PG Darius Garland (groin) and SG Kevin Porter Jr. (concussion) all sat Saturday.
3. Love had 30 points and 17 rebounds in a 117-109 overtime win at San Antonio on Dec. 12.