The Brooklyn Nets (39-32, sixth in the Eastern Conference) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (45-28, fourth in the Eastern Conference) to Barclays Center on Tuesday for the second of three matchups between the teams this season. Brooklyn currently leads the regular-season series 1-0.
In the first game, a Nets 125-117 win on Dec. 26, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving scored 32 points each to lead Brooklyn in scoring. The win gave the Nets their ninth-straight victory, which was the longest winning streak since the team moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn. Cavaliers guard Darius Garland scored 46 points to lead Cleveland in scoring.
The Nets come into this game on a 3-game losing streak as they had crushing losses Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings, and the Denver Nuggets. Brooklyn lost those three games by an average margin of 8.3 points which mostly comes from their 121-107 loss to the Thunder. The Nets main issue, as they are just one game ahead of the seventh-place Miami Heat, is rebounding the basketball. In the three losses, they were out-rebounded by a total of 28.
The Cavaliers come into this game having won seven of their last 10, including impressive wins over the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. Cleveland has been unstoppable scoring the basketball as they have scored at least 110 points in nine of their past 11 games. Garland and Donovan Mitchell will prove to be tough covers for the Nets, but not having to deal with Jarrett Allen should give Brooklyn relief on the glass.
Here’s when and where you can tune in to see the matchup: