Rockets at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are fresh off their most impressive victory of the season and look to carry the momentum into Saturday's home contest against the Houston Rockets. Cleveland posted a stunning 121-112 win at Philadelphia on Friday for their first triumph in nine road games this season.
The Cavaliers rolled up 67 points in the second half against Philadelphia, and coach Larry Drew asserted his club deserved such a solid victory. "We've had some really close games and games we felt we should have won," Drew told reporters. "We knew coming into this building that it was going to be a tough task." Houston saw it five-game winning streak end when it suffered a 116-111 overtime loss to host Detroit on Friday in the second game of a home-and-home series between the teams. "We just couldn't get stops," star point guard James Harden told reporters. "We made some mistakes, some turnovers. It was a hard-fought game on both sides."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), FS Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (9-8): Center Clint Capela, who had a huge game on Friday with a career-high 29 points and a season-best 21 rebounds, is averaging 26.3 and 17.3, respectively. "I'm just trying to be aggressive," Capela told reporters after Friday's contest. "I'm not thinking about it. I just play basketball, and with my confidence, I feel like I can score and I try to be aggressive and try to get every rebound." Harden was just 9-for-27 while scoring 33 points but is averaging 36.7 over his last three contests.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (3-14): Guards Rodney Hood (25 points), Collin Sexton (23) and Jordan Clarkson (19) all had strong performances in the win over the 76ers. Hood made a season-high five 3-pointers while falling one point shy of his season best, Sexton was 10-for-18 shooting while also ending up one point shy of his season high and Clarkson did his damage in 20 minutes off the bench. Center Tristan Thompson continued his strong season with 18 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double and eighth of the campaign.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Rockets have won 10 of the last 12 meetings.
2. Cleveland F Cedi Osman scored 20 points against the 76ers - his second straight contest with 20 or more and fourth of the campaign.
3. Houston PG Chris Paul scored 20 points on Friday for his fifth 20-point effort in the last six games.