Cavaliers at Bucks
After nailing down their first playoff berth in five years, Cleveland continues its quest of nailing down the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference when it starts a three-game road trip at Milwaukee on Sunday. By virtue of a 95-92 win over Indiana on Friday, the Cavaliers cemented their spot in the postseason, picking up their 15th straight home win in the process. "You're not going to get any roses for it," head coach David Blatt said. "But, you know, that was our first goal when I came here."
LeBron James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, shaking off the effects of a head cold to help Cleveland get past Indiana and improve to 26-6 since Jan. 15. The Bucks entered that date leading the Cavaliers by a game in the standings, but they have slipped below .500 for the first time since December with five straight losses, the most recent a 129-127 triple-overtime setback at Brooklyn on Friday. Milwaukee will try to summon some energy after chucking up 129 shots and using all five starters at least 40 minutes.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (45-26): The playoff berth is particularly special for point guard Kyrie Irving, whose first three years with the Cavaliers were marked by plenty of losing. "All of us coming together as a team and us making the playoffs for the first time is an awesome thing," Irving told Cleveland.com following the win over Indiana. Irving has cooled off since his recent torrid two-game stretch in which he scored 90 points and made 12-of-13 3-pointers, averaging 15.3 points on 34 percent shooting over his last three games.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (34-35): Milwaukee is 4-12 since its headline-grabbing trade that brought them Michael Carter-Williams and are in danger of sinking from the sixth-place position they've held for several weeks. Miami entered Saturday 1 1/2 games behind the Bucks, and Boston and Indiana were just 3 1/2 back. The streaky Carter-Williams is mired in another one of his swoons, shooting 12-of-47 from the floor over the last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks SG Khris Middleton is averaging 21.7 points on 61.3 percent shooting over his last six home games.
2. Both James and PF Kevin Love missed the previous meeting Dec. 31, when Milwaukee handed Cleveland a 96-80 loss.
3. Cleveland visits Milwaukee again on April 8 to conclude the four-game season series.