Hornets at Cavaliers
Kyrie Irving called his Cleveland Cavaliers the NBA’s “team to beat” but struggled to back up those words with a 5-of-23 performance in an overtime win at Atlanta on Friday. The Cavaliers will try to get one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on Sunday when they host the Charlotte Hornets, who are locked in their own playoff battle.
Irving drew some criticism for his comments due to the fact that the defending champion Golden State Warriors are on a historic pace and the San Antonio Spurs aren’t far behind, but Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue supported his player before offering a modest clarification. “I think the team that we have, I think our team is very confident," Lue told reporters. "When (Irving) says 'the team to beat,' I would say 'the team to beat in the East.' I wouldn't say overall because the Golden State Warriors won the championship last year.” The Cavaliers have been up and down of late and struggled to look like a championship contender while squandering a 14-point halftime lead against the Hawks on Friday. Cleveland did a favor for the Hornets with that win, and Charlotte was knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers at the same time to stay in the four-team race for the No. 3 spot in the East along with Atlanta, Miami and Boston.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (44-31): Charlotte had more trouble than it expected on Friday but still pulled out a 100-91 home win over the 76ers behind 27 points and 11 rebounds from Kemba Walker. The standout guard had been in a bit of a slump with one 20-point outing in his previous six games but buried three 3-pointers in the final 4:41 on Friday after Philadelphia had cut its deficit to just four points. The victory, combined with Atlanta’s loss, pulled the Hornets into a virtual tie for the No. 3 spot with the Hawks and Miami while Boston sits a half-game behind the pack entering Saturday.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (54-22): A drama-filled month of March is over and Cleveland has shifted into full-on playoff mode behind LeBron James, who pulled his team to victory with 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists on Friday. James moved past Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and into 11th place on the all-time scoring list in the win. "I wish I could've had a triple-double in passing him as well," James told reporters. "That would've been the perfect thing. Any time I'm linked with the Big O, it's an honor for myself. I understand and know how much he meant not only to the game of basketball but what he represented off the floor. It's special to be linked with a guy like that who was so special."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets F Marvin Williams scored in double figures in one of his last six games after putting up at least 12 points in each of the previous seven contests.
2. Irving is 24-of-82 from the floor in his last four games.
3. Cleveland has taken two of the three meetings this season including a 114-103 home triumph on Feb. 24 in which James and Irving scored 23 points apiece.