Game Summary
The Cavaliers are back in action on Wednesday night as they take on the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff from The Q is set for 7:00 p.m. (ET).
The Wine & Gold head into their midweek contest on a high note after topping the Nets, 99-97, on Monday night in Brooklyn after Alec Burks slammed home a game-winning dunk in the final seconds.
Cavs Host Warriors
From where to catch all the action to Wednesday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.
FOX Sports Ohio
WTAM 100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega
Joe G.'s guide to a victory.
Learn more about Wednesday's matchup.
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Burks' big play was just one of many made by the Cavaliers reserves, who outscored the Nets bench, 42-31, in the win. Cleveland’s bench has now tied or outscored its opponents’ reserves on 17 occasions in 2018-19. Overall this season, the reserves are averaging 41.8 ppg, which is good for seventh-best in the NBA.
Once again, Cleveland was hot from the free-throw line in Monday's 'W'. The Wine & Gold shot a season-best .950 (19-20) from the line at Brooklyn, their seventh time shooting at least .900 from the charity stripe this season. Through 23 games, Cleveland is shooting an .800 clip from the charity stripe, good for second-best in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the NBA.
From a defensive perspective, CLE played BKN tough, holding the Nets to .394 (39-99) shooting from the field, including 10-40 (.250) from three-point range. It was their second-lowest opponent field goal percentage of the season, as well as the second straight game and fifth time this season they held an opponent under .300 from beyond the arc.
Individually, Tristan Thompson had yet another great all-around game, recording his third consecutive double-double (13th of the season), tallying 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in 34 minutes at Brooklyn. Thompson has now registered a double-double in 11 of his last 14 games.
Jordan Clarkson also had a solid game, registering his first double-double of the season (fifth of career) with a team-high 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. Clarkson became the first Cavs bench player to post at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in less than 30 minutes played since 4/16/14.
The Cavs will look to continue their well-rounded play on Wednesday night when they welcome to town a Warriors team that has hit a rough patch in recent weeks.
Before snagging a 128-111 win against the Hawks on Monday night in Atlanta, the Dubs lost six of nine and were still trying to find their groove.
They were overjoyed, however, when former-MVP Stephen Curry returned to the lineup this past Saturday against Detroit after missing three weeks to a groin injury. In just his second game back, Curry didn't seem to miss a beat, dropping 30 points and six three-pointers in his squad's win over the Hawks. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson had excellent games, posting 28 and 27 points, respectively.
From a stats point-of-view, this trio of stars has been playing some of the best basketball of their careers and all have tallied at least 50 points in a game so far.
Going forward, Wednesday's game between the Cavs and Warriors will be the first of a home-and-home series this season, which concludes later this coming year on April 5 in Oakland.
Where to Catch the Action
TV: FOX Sports Ohio
Tune in for Cavaliers LIVE on FSO for pre-and-postgame coverage starting 30 minutes prior to tipoff and immediately following the conclusion of the game.
Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 La Mega
For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike, @angel_gray1, @cayleighgriffin and @chones22 on Twitter.
Probable Starters/Status Update*
#2 - Collin Sexton
#3 - George Hill
#1 - Rodney Hood
#16 - Cedi Osman
#13 - Tristan Thompson
G
G
F
F
C
#30 - Steph Curry
#11 - Klay Thompson
#9 - Andre Iguodala
#35 - Kevin Durant
#5 - Kevon Looney
Status Update: (Cavs) - Kevin Love (Left Foot Soreness, Out), Sam Dekker (Left Ankle Sprain, Out), David Nwaba (Right Knee Soreness, Out), Ante Zizic (Left Knee Strain, Out), JR Smith (NWT)
Status Update: (Warriors) - TBA
*Subject to change.
Head-to-Head Matchup
While the Wine & Gold may not own the same level of fire power as Warriors, Cleveland still has a few tricks up their sleeves and will look to play those cards at the right time on Wednesday night.
In fact, the Cavs are the much better bench team in this matchup, outscoring Golden State's reserves, 41.8-30.4. In terms of individual reserve players, Cleveland's Jordan Clarkson (16.2 ppg) is outscoring Golden State's top reserve, Quinn Cook (9.5 ppg).
The Wine & Gold will look to use their physicality on Wednesday. T.T. has notched 13 double-doubles this season and is averaging 11.5 boards per game while the Warriors starting center, Kevon Looney, is averaging under half that with 5.2 rpg.
The Cavs know that they're going to have to win in the trenches and pester the Warriors if they want to earn their second-straight win.
Game Promotions
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On Deck
Following Wednesday's matchup with the Warriors, the Cavs continue their homestand on Friday night with a game against the Sacramento Kings at 7:30 p.m. (ET) before battling the Washington Wizards the following night on December 8 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). The Cavs will then take a quick road trip to Milwaukee to joust with the Bucks on the following Monday.