Hornets at Cavaliers
After a first half of extreme ups and downs, the Cleveland Cavaliers hope they have finally found the winning formula. Cleveland seeks a fifth straight win when it hosts the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The Cavaliers started 5-7, won 12 of 15 and lost 10 of 12 prior to their latest streak, and in between lost Anderson Vareajo to injury, traded Dion Waiters and added J.R. Smith, Timofey Mozgov and Iman Shumpert to a team anchored by James, Kyrie Irving and underperforming Kevin Love.
"This is a relatively new team in midseason and I think it’s really a good thing," Cleveland coach David Blatt told reporters. "We went through a tough stretch, missing a lot of guys. We’re coming out of that in a good way because we know what we’re doing. We just needed the bullets in the gun, that’s all." The Cavaliers will be tested, as the Hornets are playing their best ball of the season with three straight wins and eight in nine. Charlotte beat Miami 78-76 Wednesday, holding its 10th straight opponent to less than 100 points - the longest streak in the NBA this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET SportSouth (Charlotte), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (18-25): Miami shot just 34.5 percent from the field and Charlotte won the battle of the boards 56-41, including 20 on the offensive end. "We have to be super-aggressive on the boards and make teams miss," guard Kemba Walker told the Charlotte Observer. "And we’ve been doing that." Walker scored 15 points after missing the previous two games with a cyst on his left knee and Al Jefferson scored 12 points off the bench in his second game back from a groin injury.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (23-20): James recorded 26 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals as Cleveland downed Utah 106-92 on Wednesday. The team is averaging 112.3 points the last four games after not topping 101 in 12 consecutive games. This will be the Cavs' third game of a four-game homestand during an extended stretch in which 10 of 13 are being played at home.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland featured all five starters with 15 or more points for a second straight game. Previously, the last time was March 4, 1993 against Minnesota.
2. Hornets C Bismack Biyombo tied a career high with eight offensive rebounds against Miami and recorded his third double-double and fourth double-digit rebounding performance in his last five games.
3. Charlotte has held its last three opponents to 80 points or fewer - the longest streak in the NBA this season and the first time since Jan. 29-Feb. 3, 2002.