The Cavaliers continue their homestand on Friday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks at The Q. Tipoff in The Land is at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
On Friday, the Wine & Gold are in position to grab a second straight win after they bested the New York Knicks, 113-106, on Wednesday night at The Q. After icing the Knicks with an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter, the Wine & Gold have now won back-to-back home games for the first time this season.
Cavs Host Bucks
From where to catch all the action to Friday'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 Friday's matchup.
Great seats are still available!
The Cavs got out to a hot start on Wednesday night scoring 39 points in the first quarter which was their most in any opening period this season. The squad also played well in the trenches, outrebounding the Knicks 51-43 - the sixth time this season they have grabbed at least 50 rebounds in a game.
From a player perspective, the Cavs were led by Jordan Clarkson who scored a team-high 28 points in Wednesday's win. Clarkson has scored in double figures in 24-of-28 games this season, including seven 20-plus point performances and is now averaging a career-high 16.4 points per game (fifth-best among all NBA bench players).
Rookie Collin Sexton also had a great game, tallying 19 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting, three rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes of work. The Young Bull has now scored in double figures in 24 games (second-most among all rookies), including each of the last 18 contests.
In his first game back in Cleveland as a member of the Cavaliers, Matthew Dellavedova reached the 2,000-point mark for his career and finished the night with a season-high 15 points on 4-7 (.571) shooting. In the two contests he's played in since being acquired by the Cavaliers on December 7, the Aussie is averaging 13.0 points per game.
The Cavs will look for another well-rounded performance on Friday night when they take on the Bucks for the second time this week. After winning two straight against the Raptors and Cavs, the Bucks weren't able to keep the ball rolling in their most recent matchup on Wednesday evening, falling to the Pacers, 113-87, in Indiana.
Despite the loss, Eric Bledsoe dropped a team-high 26 points for the second straight game after tallying 20 against the Cavaliers. Giannis Antetokounmpo notched a double-double (12 pts/10 rbs) against Indy after missing Monday's game against Cleveland due to a sore shoulder.
With Monday's game already in the books and their next game slated for Friday, the Central Division rivals will meet two more times in 2018-19. Their next game will take place on March 20 at The Q (7:00 p.m. ET) before they wrap up their season series four days later for a Sunday matinee matchup in Milwaukee.
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
#1 - Rodney Hood
#10 - Alec Burks
#16 - Cedi Osman
#9 - Channing Frye
G
G
F
F
C
#6 - Eric Bledsoe
#13 - Malcolm Brogdon
#22 - Khris Middleton
#34 - Giannis Antetokounmpo
#11 - Brook Lopez
Status Update: (Cavs) - Kevin Love (Left Foot Surgery, Out), Tristan Thompson (Left Foot Sprain, Out), John Henson (Left Wrist Surgery, Out), JR Smith (NWT)
Status Update: (Bucks) - Giannis Antetokounmpo (Neck Soreness, Probable)
*Subject to change.
Head-to-Head Matchup
As mentioned, this is the second time this week the Cavaliers and Bucks will be going head-to-head after Milwaukee topped Cleveland, 108-92, on Monday evening at Fiserv Forum.
Cleveland has made it tough for Milwaukee to win in The Land, winning six-straight games as well as 10-of-11 since 2013.
In those last six meetings in Cleveland, the Cavs have won by an average of 9.0 points (115.2-106.2), while shooting a combined .504 from the field, .414 (70-169) from three-point range and .820 from the charity stripe. They have also averaged 25.0 assists and outrebounded Milwaukee by 10.0 (42.2-32.2) boards per contest over that stretch.
On Monday, the Cavs took it to the Bucks' reserves, outscoring them 51-33. Overall, Cleveland is averaging 43.0 points per game from its reserves compared to Milwaukee's 32.5.
On Deck
Following Friday's matchup with the Bucks, the Wine & Gold will wrap up their three-game homestand with a matinee showdown against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (ET).
Cleveland will then hit the road for six of their next seven games.