Cavaliers at Trail Blazers
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to shake off a rare defeat when they continue a six-game road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Cleveland won the first two games of the trip over the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns before suffering a 100-92 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
Forward LeBron James scored 29 points in the loss to Utah and has tallied 23 or more points in each of the past eight games. James is averaging 29.5 points during the stretch while topping 30 points four times. Portland also features a hot scorer in shooting guard C.J. McCollum, who tallied 25 points in Tuesday's 108-87 road trouncing of the Los Angeles Lakers. McCollum has scored 25 or more points in seven of the past eight games and is averaging 30.4 points during the stretch.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), KGW (Portland)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (28-9): Swingman Kyle Korver suited up for the first time since being acquired by the Atlanta Hawks and had just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes. The veteran sharpshooter is slated to fill the void of injured shooting guard J.R. Smith (broken thumb) and James had this piece of advice for the player who has made 1,952 career 3-pointers. "First thing I told him when he walked in the locker room the other day was, 'If you want to fit in, shoot the ball every time you get it,' " James told reporters. "'Soon as it touches your hand, shoot it. We don't care.'"
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (17-23): Point guard Damian Lillard is still looking to regain his conditioning after recently missing five games with an ankle injury and overcame a slow start to score 18 second-half points to finish with 20 against the Lakers. Lillard has been deferring to McCollum in the three games since he returned to the lineup as he is well aware his backcourt mate has the hot hand. "I've been playing pretty efficiently over that stretch," McCollum told reporters of his eight-game splurge. "I'm being aggressive, trying to make the right moves to help my team win."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers posted a 137-125 home win over the Trail Blazers on Nov. 23 but have lost their past three visits to Portland.
2. Cleveland PF Kevin Love, who is 22-of-66 shooting over the past four games, scored 40 points (34 in the first quarter) in the first meeting with the Trail Blazers.
3. Portland F Al-Farouq Aminu recorded a season-best 15 rebounds against the Lakers for his sixth double-digit effort on the boards this season.