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UPCOMING MILESTONES: With six more three pointers, Kyle Korver becomes only the seventh player in the NBA to hit 2000 in his career. LeBron James needs three more rebounds to secure the 2nd most in Cavaliers’ history – passing Brad Daugherty.
Despite falling to the Thunder by nine on Thursday, the Cavaliers have still won six of their last eight games, and now look to take on the Denver Nuggets in Cleveland. The Nuggets are currently 24-29 and are sitting at the eighth seed in the West. While the Cavaliers have had a full day of rest, the Nuggets will be looking to finish up a back-to-back – they won 131-123 in New York against the Knicks just yesterday, behind Nikola Jokic’s 40 points on 73.9% shooting.
The Nuggets are currently averaging 110.5 points per game (fourth most in the league), 46.6 rebounds per game (second most), and 24.5 assists per game (fourth most) . They’ll present a strong matchup against the Cavaliers, especially inside the paint, where they score 44.7% of their points. They have thrived off of offensive rebounding – leading the league in second chance points per game. The Cavaliers will have to look to lock down the pain, and minimize scoring while the Big Three are off the court as the Nuggets average 41.9 points per game off of the bench.
Key players to watch for on the Nuggets will be Nikola Jokic (averaging 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game) and Wilson Chandler (averaging 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game).
Tipoff is set for 7:30 EST and will be broadcast on FOX Sports Ohio.
