Wizards at Cavaliers
The Washington Wizards face a road-heavy stretch to end the regular season, and it begins Saturday against the host Cleveland Cavaliers. The contest is the opener of a five-game road trip as the Wizards play eight of their final 10 games away from home.
Washington resides in third place in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of Toronto, and clinched a playoff berth with Friday's 129-108 home victory over Brooklyn. "It's great," All-Star point guard John Wall told reporters. "The way we dealt with last year wasn't good for us. We wanted to go to the playoffs. We fell short of that. The way we started this season (2-8) wasn't the way we wanted. ... We all stayed together as a team. That's the most important thing." The Cavaliers lead the East by one game over Boston after registering a 112-105 win at Charlotte on Friday. Cleveland posted a 140-135 overtime victory over the Wizards on Feb. 6 in the most recent meeting as Cavaliers superstar LeBron James recorded 32 points and a career-best 17 assists while Washington guard Bradley Beal poured in 41 points.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (44-28): Washington has posted a 9-5 record this month and is averaging a solid 122 points per contest, pleasing coach Scott Brooks. "We knew March was going to be pretty demanding, challenging," Brooks told reporters after the win over the Nets. "We were hoping we were playing well at that time. We're not playing bad." Wall scored 22 points in 24 minutes against Brooklyn after nearly missing the game due to a migraine headache and backup Brandon Jennings picked up the slack with 18 points and nine assists.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (47-24): Cleveland held Charlotte to 42.2 percent shooting on Friday as the defensive charge was significantly better than it was in Wednesday's 126-113 setback against Denver. "The effort was definitely there," coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "The guys took the challenge. We helped, got back out. That team shot 42 percent from the field, so the effort was great. That's how we've got to play. That's who we are." Point guard Kyrie Irving scored 26 points, reaching 20 for a career-best 20th consecutive game and the 54th time this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers have won each of their last three meetings with the Wizards, including two this season.
2. James scored 32 points versus Charlotte for his sixth 30-point performance over his last 10 games but suffered a corneal abrasion that leaves him as questionable for Saturday's contest.
3. Washington backup C Ian Mahinmi matched his season best of 16 points by hitting 5-of-6 shots against Brooklyn.