Memphis @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Memphis 107, Cleveland 112

The Memphis Grizzlies had a three-game winning streak in their sights before falling apart in a 126-122 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. The Grizzlies will try to bounce back and win for the fifth time in seven games when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Memphis held a 24-point lead in the third quarter but allowed the Thunder to go on a 40-15 surge over the next nine minutes and fell short as the teams battled down the stretch. The Grizzlies were coming off impressive home wins over the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat and had a two-game road winning streak come to an end on Wednesday as well despite impressive individual performances from rookies Brandon Clarke and Ja Morant. The Cavaliers earned their seventh win by holding off the Hornets 100-98 on Wednesday and dominated the interior with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson each recording a double-double and combining to go 11-of-18 from the floor, which helped hold off a late charge. "It certainly wasn't the fourth quarter that we wanted to play, but it's a W and we've had a couple losses this year where the ball did not bounce our way," Cleveland coach John Beilein told reporters. "A W is a W and we are going to take it every day and celebrate it."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Memphis), FS Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (10-18): Memphis is building for the future with Morant as the centerpiece and the point guard went for 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting and seven assists on Wednesday while going up against future Hall of Famer Chris Paul and a stout Thunder defense. Clarke scored a season-high 27 points on 13-of-19 from the floor and added seven rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench in the setback. Clarke has been on a tear since returning from injury last week and is averaging 20.3 points on 70.8 percent shooting over his last four games.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (7-21): Love has been the subject of trade rumors of late and showed off his all-around game on Wednesday while nailing 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and adding seven assists to go with his 16 points and 14 rebounds. Love is a link to the team's championship past, but second-year guard Collin Sexton is being counted on to be part of the team's championship future and he is on a roll recently while averaging 24 points over the last two games. Sexton is 20-of-30 from the floor over those two games and contributed on the defensive end with three steals in Wednesday's triumph.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers SF Cedi Osman went 8-of-12 from the floor on Wednesday after going 7-of-21 over the previous two contests.

2. Grizzlies SG Dillon Brooks scored 15 points on Wednesday and is averaging 17.4 in December.

3. The home team took each of the two meetings last season, with Cleveland pulling out a 112-107 victory behind 32 points from Love.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 102, Grizzlies 101