Nets at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to bounce back from their most lopsided defeat of the season when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. The Cavaliers had a six-game home winning streak snapped with a 127-98 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday and have dropped three of four following an eight-game winning streak. The Nets have dropped two straight and five of their last seven following a 105-89 loss at Toronto on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers have won the past two meetings, including a 110-88 road win Dec. 8, but they won't beat many teams if they play defense like they did against the Hawks, who shot 64.5 percent overall and were 16-for-28 from 3-point range. "That was embarrassing, how we played," Cleveland coach David Blatt told reporters. "I apologize to all the good fans who came out here. Really, just a poor, poor performance." The Nets hope to see a similarly porous defense as they look to jumpstart a struggling offense — they've topped 100 points only once in their past 13 games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE NETS (10-14): Brooklyn hung with Toronto for three quarters but doesn't have enough punch from the bench to go toe-to-toe with the league's elite teams. It doesn't help that big man Brook Lopez (16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds) is sidelined with a strained lower back and veteran Kevin Garnett (7.6 points, 8.5 rebounds) has been sitting out the second game of back-to-backs. The Nets have seen center Mason Plumlee blossom with four straight double-digit scoring games and back-to-back 20-point contests — he topped 20 only once in his first 95 career games.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (14-10): The defensive woes that plagued Cleveland early in the season have cropped up again, as the Cavaliers have allowed three of their last five opponents to shoot better than 50 percent. That makes it tough for the Cavaliers to keep up even with their prolific trio of LeBron James (25.4 points, 7.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds), Kyrie Irving (19.9 points, 5.3 assists) and Kevin Love (17.6 points, 10.5 rebounds). Love has recorded double-doubles in eight of the past 10 games and has a team-high 14 this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James (23,754) needs four points to pass Charles Barkley for 23rd on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
2. The Nets are 0-8 when allowing 100 or more points and 1-12 when trailing after three quarters.
3. Cleveland reserve SG Dion Waiters has scored 14 or more points in four of the past six games.