Bucks at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to rediscover their form at home when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Although the Cavaliers have been on the outside looking in to the Eastern Conference playoff race most of the season, they did perform well at Quicken Loans Arena early on, racing to an 8-4 mark. However, they've followed up an impressive 3-2 road trip with two straight home losses — including Wednesday's 98-87 setback against Chicago — and are 2-6 in their last eight at home.
All-Star Kyrie Iving had 26 points but his teammates shot 23-of-79 from the floor in the loss to the Bulls, which dropped Cleveland to 9-19 against Eastern Conference teams. Milwaukee snapped a nine-game slide with a 104-101 win over Detroit at home Wednesday. The Cavaliers and Bucks have split the first two meetings this season, the home team emerging victorious each time.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (8-33): Milwaukee has utilized 19 different starting lineups in 41 games this season but hopes to be able to shuffle the rotation a bit more Friday night. Both center Larry Sanders and shooting guard O.J. Mayo were out Wednesday with illnesses, leaving the Bucks without one of their top rebounders and one of their few scoring threats off the bench. Veteran Caron Butler did more than fill the gap against Detroit, returning from a one-game layoff due to dental work to score 30 points.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (15-27): Cleveland's lackluster offense ranks 22nd in the NBA in scoring, compared to last for Milwaukee, but the Cavs fall to the Bucks' dreadful level when it comes to shooting, ranking 29th with a 42.5 percent mark from the floor. Cleveland has shot below that mark in both of the losses on the homestand. Irving has been the constant during this up-and-down stretch, averaging 24 points in his last four games and shooting over 50 percent in two of them.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Irving scored 39 points in a 114-111 overtime win the last time the teams met Dec. 20 in Cleveland.
2. Bucks G Brandon Knight is averaging 22.5 points while making 12-of-23 3-pointers over his last four games.
3. After averaging 19.8 points over the first six games this month, Cavaliers G C.J. Miles has been held to single digits in four of his last five contests.