Warriors at Cavaliers
The Golden State Warriors are in the middle of a six-game road trip and needed another star performance from Stephen Curry to avoid a second straight loss on Tuesday. The Warriors have rarely met a hotter team this season, but that could be the case when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. Curry sat out the first game of the trip with a foot injury but returned with 32 points and eight assists Tuesday.
NBA-best Golden State ascended to the top of the standings in large part due to their league-best opponent field-goal percentage (.425) but allowed the Indiana Pacers to shoot 48.1 percent in the trip opener Sunday before letting the stumbling Washington Wizards go off at 53.2 percent Tuesday. “It was a really strange box score,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “It’s hard to make sense of it, but the main thing is we gutted it out. We found a way to win.” Cleveland has won 17 of its last 19 to move into third place in the Eastern Conference and, like Golden State, the defensive end has been a focus.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (44-10): Klay Thompson scored 39 points against the Pacers but could not lift the team by himself and was happy to have his fellow “Splash Brother” back Tuesday. “It was good to have Steph Curry back, doing what he does — mesmerizing the crowd and mesmerizing us,” Thompson told reporters. Curry and Thompson combined for 47 points and the defense limited Cleveland to 40.7 percent from the field in a 112-94 win Jan. 9, though LeBron James sat out that game for the Cavaliers.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (36-22): Cleveland has held its opponent to 93 or fewer points in each of its last four wins and is spreading the ball around on offense the way it was envisioned when the team was put together. Kevin Love took center stage with a career high-tying eight 3-pointers when the Cavaliers closed out a four-game road trip with a 102-93 win at Detroit on Tuesday. Cleveland has won 10 straight at home and is making a brief stop in its own arena before heading out for four of the next five on the road.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Curry has scored 20 or more points in 12 straight games.
2. James is 2-of-11 from 3-point range in the last two games.
3. Golden State has recorded 20 road wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history.