Atlanta @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 30, 2017 ) Cleveland 121, Atlanta 114

The Atlanta Hawks return to the scene of their most impressive victory of the season when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Atlanta owns the second-worst record (6-20) in the NBA but the team was sharp when it recorded a 117-115 victory in Cleveland on Nov. 5.

Seven different Atlanta players scored 12 or more points in the stunning upset, led by point guard Dennis Schroder's 28 points and nine assists. Schroder has emerged as the Hawks' main scoring threat and has topped 20 points in five of the past eight games and has 14 20-point outings on the season. Cleveland is rolling with 14 victories in its last 15 games after riding forward LeBron James in Saturday's 105-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. James had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against the 76ers for his 58th career triple-double.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (6-20): Forward Ersan Ilyasova has been lava-hot over the past two games by averaging 23 points on 16-of-20 shooting, including 10-of-11 from 3-point range. Ilyasova made five 3-pointers in each game and scored 26 points on 9-of-9 shooting in Saturday's win over the Orlando Magic before coming back with 20 on 7-of-11 shooting on Sunday in a loss to the New York Knicks. Prior to the two games, Ilyasova's best performance of the season was when he scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in a 121-114 loss to the Cavaliers on Nov. 30.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (19-8): Center Tristan Thompson (calf) will return from a calf injury after a 19-game absence but he will be coming off the bench as opposed to his former starting role. Cleveland has performed well with Kevin Love at center and Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said after Monday's practice that he didn't want to tinker with a good formula and Thompson understands. "We've got to figure it out. I don't care," Thompson told reporters. "If I don't play, that's fine as long as we're winning I'm going to cheer my teammates on. If I play two minutes, three minutes, 20 minutes, it don't matter to me. As long as we win."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Love registered 25 points and 16 rebounds when Cleveland posted the victory in Atlanta on Nov. 30.

2. Cleveland SG J.R. Smith made two 3-pointers in Saturday's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers to move into 12th place all-time with 1,828, passing Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

3. Atlanta C Dewayne Dedmon (leg) is slated to miss his seventh straight game and PF John Collins (shoulders) will miss his sixth.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 124, Hawks 97