In the second and final game of their New York City series, two Eastern Conference teams with playoff hopes take the court. Thursday night, the Cavaliers hit the road to face off against the Nets.
These teams met on Tuesday night in the same building with the Cavaliers taking a 115-109 win.
The latest injury update for Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets
The Cavaliers have a 106-84 advantage in the regular season series between the two franchises. Do the Cavaliers have what it takes to win both games in this set, or can the Nets at least force a split?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are hitting their stride at the right time to try and lock up first-round playoff home-court advantage, but the Brooklyn Nets may have to play at least one more game than they would have liked to make the playoffs due to a recent losing streak.
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On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers swept the first game of this two-game set with a road victory over the Nets, giving them their second consecutive victory and seventh in the last nine games.
The Cavaliers have a 46-28 record heading into tonight’s game, good enough for second place in the Central Division, 6.5 games back from the division-leading Bucks. They were 6.5 games ahead of Miami for the final wild card spot in the East, and 6.5 games behind Milwaukee for first place.
- Donovan Mitchell – Active
Donovan Mitchell racked up 31 points (10-22 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 6-8 FT), five rebounds and three assists across 37 minutes during Tuesday’s 115-109 win over Brooklyn.
On Tuesday, Mitchell was the only player to score more than 30 points, and he led the team in scoring and three-pointers.
In addition to scoring 30 points and making 5 or more three-pointers in that game against Brooklyn, he has done so in 15 of the season’s 16 games.
The Cavaliers have a healthy roster as of Wednesday, with no players out due to injury.
The Brooklyn Nets dropped their fourth straight game as they were taken down at home by Cleveland in the first game of this two-game series Tuesday night.
Before this game, the Nets were fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 39-33 record, 10.5 games behind the Celtics in first place. They were sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they were only half a game ahead of the Heat to make sure they would make the playoffs.
- Ben Simmons – Out
Ben Simmons (knee/back) has not played since February 15 and will miss Thursday’s game against the Cavaliers.
He has resumed his on-court workouts, but there is still no word on when we can expect to see him back in actual games.
