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Cavaliers-Clippers Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers look to put an ugly performance behind them when they continue a seven-game road trip Saturday with a matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cleveland (22-13) had its five-game winning streak snapped with a 109-90 loss at Phoenix on Thursday. LeBron James scored 34 points, including the Cavaliers' first 14 to start the fourth quarter, but the outcome was already decided by then as Cleveland trailed 67-41 at halftime.

"It's just one game," James said. "It can be a little disappointing, but we don't look at it like that. We have to learn from whatever we did. We did some good things, but we also did some bad things."

James didn't receive much help from his teammates. Drew Gooden was the only other Cav in double figures with 11 points as Cleveland shot 37.9 percent from the field.

The Cavs are looking forward to erasing the memory of their worst loss of the season.

"This game is not going to define our season," forward Donyell Marshall said. "It is the second game of our road trip and we are 1-1 right now. We just have to stay focused. We've been playing well coming into this game and it's one game."

James has never won at Staples Center, losing three times to both the Clippers (17-19) and the Lakers. He's shot just 38.4 percent in those games, including 33.3 percent in the three losses to the Clippers.

Los Angeles is 12-6 at home and enters after winning the last two games of a six-game trip. The Clippers split the trip with a hard-fought 92-91 victory at Minnesota on Wednesday.

Elton Brand had 21 points and Sam Cassell added 18 points for Los Angeles, which has been bothered by various injuries this season as it tries to build off reaching the second round of the playoffs a season ago.

"If we can play like this, with this aggressiveness, this passion? See, that's the game," Cassell said. "That's what we've been playing with. That's why we have been successful."

Cassell made his first start since Dec. 2, starting in the backcourt with Shaun Livingston for the first time. He missed seven games due to soreness in his left foot before coming off the bench Monday against New Orleans.

Livingston made just 6-of-30 shots from the field in the last three games of the trip, but managed to hand out an average of 6.0 assists in that span.

Cleveland is hoping the trip to Los Angeles will revitalize center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who made 1-of-9 shots for four points on Thursday. Ilgauskas is averaging 21.6 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last five games against the Clippers.

The home team has won the last seven meetings between these teams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=270113012


GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's go Cavs - have a couple teams in a row that we should be able to beat.

Is this on sopcast tonight?

Didn't see it - I think SopCast hates us....

Yeah

i'm flipping between this and the football game

but, why isn't larry hughes in the lineup?

lebron passed larry nance on the all-time list for the cavs... he's now 7th

he's going to be the all-time leader in points scored in this franchise in 2 years, that's amazing..

if anyone is watching the game...please explain how the clips have 3 tech fouls....thts crazy

Technical Fouls: LA Clippers - C. Kaman 1, S. Cassell 1, C. Maggette 1


Oh and it's 60-59 cavs with about 5mins in the 3rd

Looks like the Cavs are turning into a second half team

wow 32 points in the 3rd quarter alone...n only gave up 21....

85-71 cavs! 8 mins left in the 4th

New Ball (well, technically, the old ball coming back, lol) = Our shooters have come back from the dead.

Quote:

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Quad strain. They said he was overcompensating for the ankle and it needed rest.

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Wait a minute.

WTF did he screw up his ankle?

Who is this Eric Snow of which you speak and when has he scored MORE than 18 points in a MONTH? Seriously, I'd be pleased if they split the next four games and came home 4-3 on this road trip. Any more than 4 wins is a bonus. Nice victory!

When Hughes hurt his ankle, he rushed back too soon, and the extra strain trying to overcompensate for the ankle hurt his quad. From the way I understand it, he probably could have played, but this was the middle of the trip, and the team was basically resting him a little to have him for other parts of the trip/season. Its preventative maintenance, basically.