Cavaliers at Knicks
Cleveland may have turned around its season at home and now will try to maintain its momentum on the road with a visit to the slumping New York Knicks on Thursday. The Cavaliers, who began their campaign with a 95-90 loss to New York at home, took the final four games of a five-game homestand to match their high-water mark at two games above .500. Cleveland's trio of stars - LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving - combined for 81 points in a 111-108 win over Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers got center Anderson Varejao back from a one-game layoff due to a rib issue and could see the return of backup guard Matthew Dellavedova - who has missed 13 straight games with a knee injury - at some point during the road trip. After showing promise with the win at Cleveland on Oct. 30 and another three nights later over Charlotte, New York has gone 2-14 and dropped its fifth straight with a 98-93 setback at home against Brooklyn on Tuesday. Carmelo Anthony needed 22 shots to get to 22 points and missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (9-7): Varejao's quick return and Dellavedova's looming comeback should help lengthen out a club that ranks last in the league in bench scoring (21.7). Against Milwaukee, only seven players appeared in more than 10 minutes with each of the Big 3 getting at least 40 minutes of action, a scenario the Cavaliers wish to avoid going forward. Veteran Mike Miller, whose playing time has been sporadic, hit multiple 3-pointers for the first time this season versus the Bucks, recording season highs with six points and seven rebounds.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-15): New York has averaged 87.6 points during the five-game slide and, like Cleveland, has been receiving sporadic support from some reserves. J.R. Smith missed most of Sunday's loss against Miami and all of the setback against the Nets due to the flu, and fellow backup shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has provided a total of four points on 2-of-12 shooting in those defeats. Smith - who had 11 points, a season-high seven assists and two steals off the bench against the Cavaliers earlier this season - is considered probable for Thursday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New York has lost eight straight road games since the win in Cleveland earlier this season.
2. Anthony is 2-for-15 from beyond the arc in his last three games after posting a 42.6 percent mark over his first 14 affairs.
3. Love has topped the 20-point mark in three consecutive games for the first time with Cleveland.