Cavaliers at Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are not showing enough spirit for their interim coach as they play out the string of a losing season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers hope to take advantage. The Cavaliers, who visit the Nets on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday, are trying to balance holding off the Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with getting their stars some rest before the playoffs.
Cleveland needed LeBron James (37 minutes) and Kyrie Irving (38) to play heavy minutes as it held off the Milwaukee Bucks 113-104 at home on Wednesday, and the two combined for 42 points, 16 assists and 14 rebounds to lead the way. That victory combined with Toronto’s 91-79 loss in Boston pushed the Cavaliers 2 1/2 games ahead of the Raptors as they kick off a two-game road trip against a pair of New York teams with losing records. Brooklyn has dropped three straight – all to Eastern Conference teams fighting for playoff position – and interim coach Tony Brown would like to see more effort from his players. “I just wanted them to know it’s not acceptable,” Brown told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “If you get a chance to be on the court, you have to play your minutes hard. We know we’re not going to the playoffs, but these guys are still getting evaluated. You have to go out there with that in your mind to prove that you belong on this team or you belong in this league.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (51-20): Cleveland followed an embarrassing loss at Miami with a pair of solid wins in which it totaled 67 assists. “It is great basketball,” James told reporters. “Everyone is in a great rhythm as you saw (Wednesday). Even when we miss some shots, the ball is still moving and we are just in a great rhythm. It’s just good ball movement.” Kevin Love joined the fun with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds after sitting out Monday’s 124-91 win over Denver with an illness.
ABOUT THE NETS (19-51): Brown vowed to switch up the lineup and offered specifics on his plan going forward. “I’m going to give Shane Larkin a chance to start the rest of these games toward the end of the season and I’m going to give Sergey Karasev a chance to start the next couple games to give him some quality minutes, so I’m going to keep shifting it around,” Brown told reporters. “It’s not going to be the same guys every night. At this stage that’s kind of my mindset.” Brown also highlighted the efforts of Sean Kilpatrick, who joined the team on a 10-day contract late last month and has put himself in position for a future with the Nets by scoring in double figures in the last six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kilpatrick is 13-of-20 from 3-point range in the last five games.
2. Cavaliers C Timofey Mozgov is averaging 9.5 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the last two games.
3. Cleveland took each of the previous two meetings this season, including a 91-78 win in Brooklyn on Jan. 20.