Thunder at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to maintain their home dominance when they begin a three-game stretch at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday against red-hot Oklahoma City. The Cavaliers are 10-1 at home this season — the top mark in the Eastern Conference — and a remarkable 30-2 in Cleveland since Jan. 19.
Although the return of star point guard Kyrie Irving — who was rumored to be making his season debut in this one — will be pushed to a later date, Cleveland still enters the homestand feeling pretty good about itself, having won three in a row after an 89-77 win at Boston on Tuesday. LeBron James scored 24 points and the Cavaliers suffocated an opponent for the second straight time, having held Orlando to 76 points in a runaway win four nights earlier. The Thunder extended the longest active winning streak in the league to six games with a 106-90 triumph over Portland at home Wednesday. Kevin Durant, who had 32 points in the previous meeting with the Cavaliers on Jan. 25, led six players in double figures with 24 points and the Thunder held their seventh straight opponent under 100.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE THUNDER (17-8): Durant made one 3-pointer and Dion Waiters the other as Oklahoma City survived a season-low two 3s (in 14 attempts) against Portland. It did so by dominating all other aspects of the game just after halftime for the second game in a row, with Durant following up a 29-point second half in a win over Utah on Sunday with 13 points and a pair of assists in the Thunder's 36-point third quarter Wednesday night. The surge allowed Durant and three of his fellow starters to sit out all of the fourth quarter, an ideal scenario entering the second half of a back-to-back on the road.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (16-7): Although Irving remains on the shelf as he works his way back from knee surgery, Cleveland has received a nice boost from reserve guard Iman Shumpert since he made his season debut two games ago. The fourth-year pro is 7-of-11 from the floor — including 4-of-6 from 3-point distance — in those two contests to bolster a bench that ranks near the bottom of the NBA in scoring. Shumpert and others could see more minutes if Matthew Dellavedova needs to rest an ailing back that might have contributed to his 1-of-6 shooting effort against Boston.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City is 12-2 when its bench outscores the opponents' reserves.
2. Thunder PG Russell Westbrook is averaging 27.1 points on 49.5 percent shooting on the road.
3. The Cavaliers have outscored opponents in the paint by a 142-88 margin during their winning streak.