Hawks at Cavaliers
LeBron James keeps ticking off personal milestones while leading his team to victory. James, who moved into 10th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list on Sunday, will try to keep the Cleveland Cavaliers undefeated when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
James needed two points to match Hakeem Olajuwon and got 25 to go along with 14 assists and eight rebounds as the Cavaliers just barely stayed unbeaten with a 102-101 win at Philadelphia on Saturday. "I'm just blessed," James said. "I've had an opportunity to play with so many great players and two great organizations throughout my career, that's allowed me to blossom and to be the player that I want to be." The Hawks snapped a two-game slide with a 112-97 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday - their first win over a team that reached the postseason last year. Atlanta will test the Cavaliers on the interior with center Dwight Howard, who is fitting in nicely in his first season with the Hawks and is enjoying a string of four double-doubles.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (4-2): Howard posted 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 14 rebounds in Saturday's win, highlighting an offensive performance that saw all five starters score in double figures while combining to shoot 56.5 from the field. Point guard Dennis Schroder (6-of-14) was the only starter to connect on fewer than 50 percent of his shots but made up for it with 12 assists. The 12 assists marked a season-high for Schroder, who is averaging 15 points and 6.5 assists in his first full season as the starter after taking over for the departed Jeff Teague.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (6-0): James needed all his 25 points on Saturday to cover an off game from point guard Kyrie Irving, who stumbled to a season-low eight points on 3-of-17 shooting. Irving, who leads the team in scoring at an average of 23 points, hit multiple 3-pointers in each of the first five games but went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc on Saturday. Channing Frye picked up some of the scoring slack with 12 points off the bench and scored in double figures in each of the last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks reserve PF Mike Muscala is shooting an NBA-best 71 percent from the floor.
2. Cavaliers F Kevin Love is averaging 23.3 points in the last three games and is 7-of-15 from 3-point range in that span.
3. Cleveland swept Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring.