Cavaliers at Celtics
The rebuilt Cleveland Cavaliers finally have their season headed in the right direction and they’ll try for three wins in a row when they visit the Boston Celtics on Friday night. The Cavaliers have strung together back-to-back victories against Denver and New Orleans, two teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season, but wins are wins. The Celtics, meanwhile, come in smarting after giving up the first road win of the season to the injury-decimated Thunder on Wednesday night.
The 15-point loss to Oklahoma City was even more painful because the Celtics had sprinted out to an 18-3 lead. They’ll need to get more out of a bench that was limited to 15 points without Marcus Smart and Marcus Thornton, both of whom were sidelined with ankle injuries. Cavaliers forward Kevin Love had his best offensive game of the season in Monday’s win against the Pelicans, scoring 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, but has been held to single digits in rebounds the last three games — a streak longer than he had all of last season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (3-3): LeBron James is also coming off his best shooting game of the season, making 9-of-17 and scoring 32 points with nine assists and 11 rebounds against a much-improved New Orleans team. His assertiveness also showed in his 17 free-throw attempts, a mark he hadn’t hit since January 2012. James has enjoyed playing against Boston in his career as well, averaging 30.1 points in 30 career games, the only team in the NBA in which he averages at least 30.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (3-4): Rajon Rondo returned to starting point guard duties after missing Saturday’s win against the Bulls following a procedure to remove screws from his surgically repaired left hand. He looked like his usual self, finishing one rebound short of a triple-double against the Thunder. His matchup against Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers is long overdue, as Rondo missed the last five meetings against Cleveland because of injuries, but many still remember their most recent clash in January 2013, when Irving scored 40 points and Rondo had 17 points, eight assists and 13 rebounds in the 95-90 win by the Cavaliers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cavaliers SG Dion Waiters returned to practice Thursday after missing Monday’s game and Wednesday’s practice with a sore back.
2. Rondo has 4.305 career assists, which ties him for fourth on Boston’s all-time list with Paul Pierce.
3. The Celtics are allowing an average of 106.4 points a game, third most in the league.