Game Summary
The Wine and Gold travel to the Nation's Capital tonight to square off against the Washington Wizards at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Cleveland will look to bounce back after falling to the Charlotte Bobcats, 86-80, last night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers led through three quarters, but the Bobcats began the fourth on an 8-2 run and didn't look back, handing the Wine and Gold their first home loss of the season.
Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson both doubled-up with 18 points, 10 assists and 15 points, 10 rebounds, respectively.
Washington comes into tonight's contest losers of three straight including a 92-79 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in their most recent game on Wednesday.
The Wizards (2-6) were playing without Trevor Ariza after a right hamstring strain late in the first half, and John Wall did not come back after getting hit in the face when the Spurs' Jeff Ayers followed through on a blocked shot late in the third quarter. Washington got 21 points off the bench from Martell Webster and 19 from Bradley Beal, but the Wizards shot 36 percent from the floor compared to San Antonio's clip of almost 51 percent.
Probable Starters/Injury Report* presented by Cleveland Clinic
Wizards: PG - John Wall, SG - Bradley Beal, SF - Trevor ArizaPF - Nene, C - Marcin Gortat
Injuries: (Cavs) - Carrick Felix, (Mild Sports Hernia, Out), Dion Waiters, (Illness, Did Not Travel, Out)
(Wizards) - Otto Porter, (Right Hip Flexor, Out), Chris Singleton, (Jones Fracture Left Foot, Out), Trevor Ariza, (Strained Right Hamstring, Questionable)
*Subject to change
Head-to-Head Matchup
Cleveland is 92-103 all-time against Washington including a 59-38 record while playing in their own arena (32-64 Road).
In the 2012-13 regular season series between these two teams, the Cavs won all three games, making it the first time Cleveland went undefeated against Washington in the regular season since 1991-92 (4-0).
Key to the Game/Key Matchup
Key to the Game
Bench Play
With a couple of guys out, and on the second half of a back-to-back, the Wine and Gold will call upon their bench to play some extended minutes tonight in Washington.
This season, the Cavaliers reserves have outscored their bench counterparts in eight of ten matchups and are averaging 31.8 points a game.
Key Matchup
Backcourt Battle
Perhaps Washington's biggest strength is their backcourt tandem of John Wall and Bradley Beal.
This season, Beal is leading the team in scoring at 19.6 points a contest including a career-high 34 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 10th. Setting the table for Beal, Wall has dished out a team-high 8.8 assists to go along with 17.0 points per game.
With Dion Waiters sidelined with an illness, C.J. Miles and Jarrett Jack will play a key role in containing Beal and Wall. On the season, Miles and Jack are averaging 11.2 and 9.5 points, respectively.
Kyrie Irving joins Miles and Jack in the backcourt battle. As mentioned, Irving tallied a double-double against the Bobcats Friday night and comes into tonight's matchup averaging team-highs in points (19.3) and assists (7.2) per game.
Where to Catch the Action
TV: FOX Sports Ohio, Radio: WTAM 1100, NBA League Pass Audio, XM 221, Sirius 216
For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.
Be sure to check cavs.com for Joe Gabriele's live in-game blog providing instant analysis and game notes. Plus, get into the discussion as die-hard Cavs fans talk about the game on CavFanatic's GameDay Thread.
On Deck
After tonight's game, the Cavs return to The Q on Wednesday, November 20th to take on the Wizards at 7:00 p.m. ET. Buy Tickets