Cleveland (36-25) have alternated wins and losses in their last six games after a 108-97 defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. LeBron James had his usual all-around superlative effort with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but his Cavaliers teammates struggled to follow his offensive lead.
The Cavs shot just 41.4 percent, their lowest mark since connecting on just 39.0 percent in their embarrassing 120-88 defeat to the Houston Rockets on January 20. They were also 9 of 32 from 3-point range, which marked the third time in their last five contests they have failed to connect on at least 30 percent of their long-range attempts.
Denver (34-28) kicked off its three-game road swing with a 108-102 victory at Memphis on Friday night. Gary Harris scored 26 points and Will Barton added 24 off the bench for the Nuggets, who carved up the Grizzlies on the interior and shot 66.7 percent (34 for 51) from inside the arc.
Paul Millsap had 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals in his second game back and first start since November 19. The forward had missed 45 games after undergoing wrist surgery in November.
The Nuggets have won eight of their last 11 overall, averaging 118.6 points while shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range and 50.5 percent overall. They've also averaged 28.4 assists in that span but won with only 18 on Friday night, their fewest since registering 17 in a victory over Miami on November 3.
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