Cavaliers at Knicks
The battle for the No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA draft will take on a head-to-head feel when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the New York Knicks on Thursday. The teams own the two worst records in the Eastern Conference, with the Knicks sitting one game behind the Cavaliers in the standings.
The three worst teams in the league at the end of the season will all have the same odds at the No. 1 overall pick in the new formula for the draft lottery, but New York is beginning to look like a team that isn't just shooting for the top prize come draft night. The Knicks are enjoying their first winning streak since November after knocking off playoff hopefuls San Antonio and Orlando in the last two games. "To me my focus is always culture," New York coach David Fizdale told reporters. "I can't - I'm not wired to lose on purpose. That just is not, I can't even get my body to function that way or my mind to function that way. I'm lucky because (team president) Steve (Mills) and (general manager) Scott (Perry) and (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan have all said to me, you play every game to win and you don't worry about where we land in the draft and all of that stuff." The Cavaliers are enjoying their own uptick in play with wins in three of the last five, including a 107-104 home triumph over New York on Feb. 11.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (14-47): Cleveland had a chance to push its own winning streak to three in a row and battled back from a 23-point deficit against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday before falling 123-110, but left the arena feeling like the team is making real progress. "Early in the season, this would have been a 35- or 40-point game," forward Larry Nance Jr. told cleveland.com. "Our third quarter was outstanding. We beat them in the second half and they're competing for a championship, a chance to play for a championship. I feel very good about the way we fought, the way we stayed in and the way we hung tough. Everyone played for one another in that second half." Part of the progress is due to the health of former All-Star Kevin Love, who posted his third straight double-double on Monday while working up to 28 minutes.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-48): New York is winning while focusing on development and is getting strong efforts from rookie center Mitchell Robinson. The 20-year-old Western Kentucky product posted his second double-double in as many games with 17 points and 14 rebounds while blocking six shots in 33 minutes on Tuesday against Orlando, and he believes he can average six blocks in regular minutes. "I'm not putting a ceiling on him," Fizdale told reporters of Mitchell. "If he believes it, I'm with him. He's shown that he's an elite shot blocker. Obviously, I'm going to keep trying to grow him and build him up to where he's playing more and more minutes. But the sky is the limit for the kid."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Knicks C DeAndre Jordan (ankle) and PG Frank Ntilikina (groin) are not expected to play Thursday.
2. Cavaliers SG Jordan Clarkson is 2-of-11 from 3-point range over the last two games.
3. Cleveland took each of the first two meetings this season - both at home.