Cavaliers at Nuggets
The Cleveland Cavaliers seek a split of a four-game road trip when they
visit the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. The Cavaliers began the excursion
with losses at Golden State and Portland before rebounding for a 101-97
victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
Point guard Kyrie Irving fueled the win over Phoenix with 22 points in 24 minutes in the best of his four appearances since returning from a major knee injury. Irving will sit out against the Nuggets as the Cavaliers are being careful not to overextend him too quickly. Cleveland averaged just 79.5 points in the two losses to begin the trip but rolled up 60 in the first half against the Suns. Injury-riddled Denver is in the midst of a slump and has lost five of its last six contests.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (20-9): Standout forward LeBron James had just 14 points against Phoenix after scoring a season-low 12 against Portland on Saturday. James is just 8-of-23 shooting in the two games but he did move past Alex English (25,613 points) and into 17th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list against the Suns with 25,623. James also moved up the assist ledger — he's 22nd all-time — with seven to increase his total to 6,473, passing Stephon Marbury (6,471).
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (12-19): Small forward Danilo Gallinari (ankle) returned to practice Monday but isn't ready to play yet and will miss his fifth straight game. Denver relies heavily on Gallinari, who is averaging a career-high 17.3 points while shooting a career-worst 38.9 percent from the field. Rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) also remains sidelined and will miss a ninth straight game but coach Michael Malone hinted that Mudiay might return Saturday against the Golden State Warriors.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets have won 10 of the last 14 home meetings with the Cavaliers.
2. Denver SF Will Barton is averaging 21.8 points during the past five games and has recorded 16 consecutive double-digit outings.
3. Cleveland SG J.R. Smith — who played five seasons for the Nuggets — made five 3-pointers against the Suns to raise his career total to 1,527, one behind 22nd-place Nick Van Exel on the all-time list.