Suns at Cavaliers
If the Phoenix Suns are going to chase down the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, they'll likely need to continue their impressive play against the East. The Suns aim for a third straight victory when they wrap up a four-game road trip Saturday at Cleveland. The Cavaliers have won 20 of their last 25 but suffered a 106-97 loss at Atlanta on Friday.
The Suns improved to 10-3 on the road against Eastern Conference opponents with a 108-100 overtime win at Brooklyn on Friday, keeping them within 1 1/2 games of eighth-place Oklahoma City. Cleveland is part of a three-team scrum fighting for the No. 2 seed in the East. Phoenix has won five of the past six meetings and seven of the past nine, including a 107-100 home victory Jan. 13.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE SUNS (33-30): Phoenix missed its first 21 shots from 3-point range against the Nets and trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter before finding its footing. Newly-acquired point guard Brandon Knight had a rough night, going 4-of-16 from the floor, but made a couple of shots in overtime. Markieff Morris, who has averaged 18.8 points during the past five games, scored a career-high 35 points in the first meeting with the Cavs this season.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (39-25): Cleveland has been one of the hottest teams in the league for more than a month, but it was out of sorts at times Friday and needs to right the ship before a challenging four-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Dallas. Star LeBron James turned in an uncharacteristic performance against the Hawks, finishing with nearly twice as many turnovers (nine) as field goals (five). No one was especially efficient at the offensive end for the Cavs, who shot 42 percent and scored a meager 24 points in the paint.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns are 5-9 in the second game of back-to-back sets and are trying to claim their fifth sweep of a back-to-back this season.
2. Cleveland has lost four straight home games against Phoenix dating to Dec. 2, 2009.
3. The Cavaliers have made 10 or more 3-pointers in 16 of their last 21 games.