Cleveland Cavaliers (45-29, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (51-23, third in the Western Conference)
Denver; Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland will try to end its three-game road slide when the Cavaliers take on Denver.
The Nuggets are 29-8 in home games. Denver is third in the NBA with 29.2 assists per game led by Nikola Jokic averaging 8.9.
The Cavaliers have gone 21-15 away from home. Cleveland has a 9-4 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Nuggets' 11.4 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 fewer made shots on average than the 12.2 per game the Cavaliers give up. The Cavaliers are shooting 47.9% from the field, 1.4% higher than the 46.5% the Nuggets' opponents have shot this season.
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Cavaliers won 121-109 in the last matchup on Nov. 19. Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 26 points, and Michael Porter Jr. led the Nuggets with 21 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is shooting 57.9% and averaging 26.1 points for the Nuggets. Porter is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Jarrett Allen is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 10.8 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Sam Merrill is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 111.2 points, 43.4 rebounds, 29.6 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.1 points per game.
Cavaliers: 4-6, averaging 106.0 points, 39.1 rebounds, 30.1 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.8 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar: out (knee), Jamal Murray: out (ankle), Zeke Nnaji: out (back).
Cavaliers: Ty Jerome: out (ankle), Dean Wade: out (knee), Caris LeVert: out (wrist).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
