Clippers at Cavaliers
Cleveland continues to push toward team history and looks to maintain its mastery of the Western Conference when it hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. The Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak is two shy of the franchise record and they own a seven-game run against the West, including a 126-121 win at the Clippers on Jan. 16. Kyrie Irving had 37 points to lead the way for Cleveland, which seeks the season series sweep against a team it has owned at home, winning 11 of the last 12 matchups.
Los Angeles is 2-2 thus far on a season-high eight-game road trip and has likely needed its last two days off to get past a miserable collapse at Brooklyn on Monday. The Clippers led the Nets by nine points with less than two minutes remaining before fading down the stretch and falling on a jumper in the closing seconds to sink to 5-4 on the road against the East. DeAndre Jordan scored 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds but was the primary culprit in a woeful 8-of-25 showing from the foul line by Los Angeles, going 2-of-12 at the stripe.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (33-16): Los Angeles' wasted chances at the line was a big reason it failed to hang on at Brooklyn, while the loss of J.J. Redick to back spasms did not help. The veteran, who is enjoying the finest shooting season of his nine-year career, lasted just four minutes before succumbing to the pain that has been bothering him for several days and will not return "until he's right," according to head coach Doc Rivers. Jamal Crawford is next on the team in made 3-pointers but has hit only 31.1 percent since the start of December.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (30-20): While LeBron James' scoring average (26.2) is on pace to be the lowest since his rookie campaign, the superstar has been handing out assists at his best rate since the last season of his previous stint with Cleveland in 2009-10 - when he averaged a career-high 8.6 - and his ability to distribute has been vital. James had 11 assists in the 97-84 win over Philadelphia on Monday, his ninth double-digit effort of the season, as the Cavaliers improved to 12-1 in games in which James has at least nine helpers. The effort against the 76ers left James needing 101 assists to catch Mark Price for the all-time franchise lead and 50 to tie former Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen for the most in NBA history by a forward.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers PF Blake Griffin had 34 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to the Cavaliers last month.
2. Cavaliers PF Kevin Love was 1-of-7 from the floor against Philadelphia and is shooting 34.4 percent over a five-game slump.
3. Cleveland has won seven straight at home and six of the seven have come by double digits.