The Brooklyn Nets will be looking to avoid a third defeat on the bounce when current NBA leaders Cleveland Cavaliers come visiting the Barclays Center on Tuesday.
While the home side have endured a torrid run of late, the visitors head to New York in search of a sixth triumph in seven matches having returned to winning ways last time out.
Match preview
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Off the back of arguably their most disappointing result of the season against the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers wasted no time getting themselves back on track courtesy of a 115-105 win over the Washington Wizards at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Following an even first 12 minutes that ended 25-25, Kenny Atkinson's men took charge in the subsequent three quarters, thanks in no small part to Jarrett Allen's 16th double-double, as the towering center posted 21 points on 7-9 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds.
Having now won 22 of their 26 matches so far, the Cavaliers remain top of the Eastern Conference and continue to put their championship credentials on display as they look to end an eight-year wait for NBA supremacy since their solitary title in 2016.
The Ohio-based outfit will now set out to keep the juggernaut rolling, and their chances of coming out on top against the Nets look pretty good, with eight wins picked up from the most recent nine meetings between the teams.
Tuesday's visitors have also been near-perfect against sides with an under .500 record this term, having lost just two of their matches against such teams, and it is worth noting that both defeats came to the Atlanta Hawks.
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Just under a week since throwing away a four-point advantage in the final four minutes of their clash against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Brooklyn Nets could have no complaints about their 135-119 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies in Saturday's meeting at FedExForum.
Despite having eight players into double digits for points, Jordi Fernandez's men were second-best for large spells of the contest, leading for only 39 seconds over the course of the 48 minutes of action.
Featuring in probably his final game for the Nets ahead of his proposed move to the Western Conference heavyweights Golden State Warriors, point guard Dennis Schroder tallied 15 points and a team-high eight assists.
Since winning four of their five matches between November 20 and 28, the Nets have now lost all but one of their subsequent six matches, dropping to a 10-15 record for the season to sit 10th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Ranking in the bottom two for both blocks and steals per game, the Nets are set to be extensively tested in defence against a team with the second-most points so far (121.2), behind only the Memphis Grizzlies (122.6).
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Team News
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Yongxi Cui will not feature again this season after suffering a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury while on G-League duty with the Long Island Nets.
Ziaire Williams is also out of contention for the home side with a knee injury, while leading point-scorer Cam Thomas misses out through a left hamstring injury.
Bojan Bogdanovic has not featured since April 28 due to a foot problem, and the 35-year-old is still without a timetable regarding his potential return to action.
Evan Mobley missed the Cavaliers' resounding victory over the Wizards last time out with an ankle issue but could be back in time to suit up for Tuesday's contest.
Max Strus (ankle) and Emoni Bates (right knee meniscus) are unfit to play any part for the away side in this one, but the former is relatively closer to a return to action.
Brooklyn Nets possible starting five:
Milton, K. Johnson; Finney-Smith, C. Johnson; Claxton
Cleveland Cavaliers possible starting five:
Garland, Mitchell; Okoro, Wade; Allen
We say: Cavaliers to win by 7+ points
The Cavaliers have been firing on all cylinders and are huge favourites to emerge triumphant here.
While we expect the Nets to put up a decent fight, we fully fancy the Cavs to claim a routine win when all is said and done.
Adepoju Marvellous
