The Atlanta Hawks don't boast the star power of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have a big cushion in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hawks aim to add to that lead when they host the Cavaliers on Tuesday. The first two meetings this season - both in Cleveland - have been lopsided affairs with the Cavaliers trouncing the Hawks 127-94 on Nov. 15 and Atlanta repaying them with a 127-98 victory Dec. 17.
The Cavaliers blew a 15-point lead Sunday and wound up being blown out 103-80 by Detroit, which owns the fourth-worst record in the league. "We're not a very good team," superstar LeBron James told reporters. "Right now, we're just not very good in every aspect of the game that we need to be to compete every night." The Hawks, who are 13-3 at home this season, have won three straight meetings in Atlanta dating to Nov. 30, 2012.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (18-12): Cleveland was finally starting to click when it lost center Anderson Varejao for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, and they've lost two of three since. James (25.2 points, 7.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds) has heaped much of the blame on himself, but he already has 11 double-doubles, one shy of last season's total. Point guard Kyrie Irving (20.2 points, 5.3 assists) is expected to return to the lineup after missing Sunday's contest with a knee contusion, but Shawn Marion (5.6 points, 3.5 rebounds) has been limited by a sprained ankle and James is nursing a sore quad.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (22-8): Atlanta has won 15 of its last 17 games including eight of nine at home, and its doing so without a bona fide star. All five starters average double-digit scoring with point guard Jeff Teague (16.6 points, 6.9 assists) and big men Paul Millsap (16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds) and Al Horford (14.6 points, 6.5 rebounds) leading the way. The balance is borne from an unselfish approach at the offensive end, as Atlanta ranks second in the league with 25.7 assists and has recorded assists on an NBA-best 68.2 percent of its field goals.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James, who turns 30 on Tuesday, scored 48 points against the Hawks on his 25th birthday, the highest total versus Atlanta in Cavaliers history.
2. Atlanta is 16-1 when holding opponents under 100 points, including a 10-0 mark at home.
3. The Hawks recalled Mike Muscala from his D-League assignment Monday and will have him available to bolster the bench.