Nuggets at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to rebound from a tough loss to end a long road trip when they open a soft portion of the schedule Saturday at home against the Denver Nuggets. The Cavaliers had won four straight - including the first three on their road trip - before a 119-108 loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday, reducing their lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference to 2 1/2 games.
Saturday begins a favorable stretch that spans the All-Star break in which Cleveland plays five of six at home - only one of the opponents has a winning record - before a visit to Boston on March 1. "We would have loved to be 4-0 (on the trip), but coming off a back-to-back, you know they gave us everything they had," LeBron James told reporters Thursday. "We go home extremely proud of what we did on this road trip." The Nuggets rode Nikola Jokic's career-high 40 points to a wild 131-123 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday in the second of three straight on the road. Jokic was 17-of-23 from the field and Denver shot 56.8 percent in its third-highest scoring total of the season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (24-29): Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay missed his third straight game with back pain Friday but veteran Jameer Nelson had one of his best games of the season in his place. Nelson finished with 16 points and 12 assists while matching a season high with four 3-pointers and has 20 assists against three turnovers on the road trip. Denver's starters shot 65.1 percent from the floor and all five finished with at least 13 points.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (36-16): Forward Derrick Williams is hoping to stick with Cleveland after signing a 10-day contract earlier in the week and his debut certainly helped the cause as the 25-year-old scored 12 points on 3-of-3 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench against Oklahoma City. "This is my first day, but you can just feel the energy as soon as you step in the locker room," Williams told reporters. "Everyone is ready to play. That's the championship mentality everyone has here." Perhaps another big body can help provide a little relief for James, who entered Friday leading the NBA in minutes (37.7) and put in 40.3 per game on the road trip.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James averaged 33.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in two wins over Denver last season.
2. Jokic is averaging 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and six assists in five games since returning from a hip injury earlier this month.
3. Denver lost nine of its last 10 games that come on the second half of a back-to-back.