Rockets at Cavaliers
Speculation over what LeBron James will do in free agency this summer is beginning to overshadow what the Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to accomplish this season. James will try to bring the focus back to the court when the Cavaliers face a big test while hosting the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
James called a recent report linking him to the Golden State Warriors as "nonsense" while trying to bring the focus back to Cleveland, which won three of its last four games. "I think it's a discredit to what I'm trying to do here," James told reporters of the free agency rumors. "It's a discredit to my teammates and the coaching staff here. My only focus right now is trying to figure out how we can become a championship-caliber team in these next few months. It's been so many stories about me in the last few months, in the last few days, about where I'm going and where I'm at and what place I'm in. I'm here, I'm right here, I'm right now and this is my present and this is where I'm at. If you don't hear something coming from my voice, then it's not true." The Rockets have been thrown out as a possible landing spot for James next season, but they are doing just fine without the superstar and enter Saturday's matchup with the second-best record in the NBA. Houston began its four-game road trip with a 102-91 win at San Antonio on Thursday behind another stellar effort from All-Star guard James Harden.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (37-13): Harden set the franchise scoring record and became the first player in NBA history with a 60-point triple-double in a win over Orlando on Tuesday before settling in at 28 points and 11 assists in Thursday's triumph. Harden also added a pair of blocks and a steal against the Spurs and was most impressed with the team's defensive effort. "I think all night, defensively, we were locked in," Harden told reporters. "We just got stops. We knew that, at some point, they were going to make a run. Especially in that second half, we held our composure. They cut it to six and we just got buckets. We got buckets, and then we got stops, especially when we needed to."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (30-20): Cleveland dropped 10 of 13 before starting to turn things around over the last four contests and is navigating without power forward Kevin Love. The All-Star suffered a broken hand in Tuesday's loss at Detroit, but the team announced on Friday that he will not require surgery and will miss eight weeks. The Cavaliers managed to win without Love on Wednesday, with Jae Crowder moving back into the starting lineup and adding 11 points and seven rebounds in a 91-89 triumph over the Miami Heat.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Rockets SG Eric Gordon (back) sat out Thursday and is questionable for Saturday.
2. Cavaliers PG Isaiah Thomas went 2-of-15 from the floor on Wednesday and is shooting 36.3 percent in 12 games.
3. Harden collected 35 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a 117-113 home win over Cleveland on Nov. 9.