Thunder at Cavaliers
Slumping through a down period filled with turmoil, the Cleveland Cavaliers took advantage of the worst team in the NBA to feel good again. They will try to maintain those positive vibes when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a nationally-televised affair Sunday afternoon.
Cleveland had dropped three in a row and six of eight while headlines circulated implying that superstar LeBron James and owner Dan Gilbert were not on the same page when it came to the direction of the franchise. Enter the Brooklyn Nets, who visited Cleveland on Friday and afforded the defending NBA champs an opportunity to right some wrongs which they did with a 124-116 win behind James (31 points, 11 assists). "The road to a championship or the road to success shouldn't be a bed of roses," James told reporters. "It's never been my road. I shouldn't expect anything different. So having bumps in the road, I think it builds character." The Thunder followed up a 3-3 road trip with a 109-98 home win over Dallas on Thursday and will be playing their first game since center Enes Kanter broke his arm punching a chair.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE THUNDER (28-19): Kanter underwent surgery Friday and is expected to be re-evaluated in four weeks, leaving Oklahoma City without its third-leading scorer and rebounder. That figures to put more on the plate of leader Russell Westbrook, who had 45 points against Dallas, although his streak of consecutive triple-doubles ended at three. "One thing you can't change is how hard you play regardless of who is on the floor and who is not," Westbrook told reporters when discussing Kanter's injury. "Coming out and competing at a high level gives us a chance to win any game."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (31-14): Kyrie Irving added 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting in Friday's win as Cleveland became the first team in the Eastern Conference to record 20 wins at home. Reserve shooting guard Kyle Korver seems to be settling in more with his new team and finished with 14 points while making 3-of-6 from 3-point range, which gives him a 20-for-41 showing from behind the arc over the past seven games. Forward Kevin Love has recorded four consecutive double-doubles but is shooting 35.2 percent from the field in January.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James averaged 29 points and 11 assists as Cleveland swept two games from Oklahoma City last season.
2. Thunder C Steven Adams is averaging 17.5 points and nine rebounds in the last two games.
3. The Cavaliers entered Saturday third in the NBA in 3-point shooting (38.4 percent), while Oklahoma City was 29th (32.7).