Atlanta @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2017 ) Atlanta 109, Cleveland 93

The Cleveland Cavaliers just needed LeBron James to play like the best player on the planet again in order to snap a four-game skid. Having done just that, James will try to follow up his 11th career 50-point outing and lead the Cavaliers to back-to-back wins when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

James exploded for 57 points on 23-of-34 shooting and added team highs of 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks in Friday's 130-122 win at Washington while dominating smaller defenders in the post. "I've been working quite a bit on my turnarounds and my fadeaways and my foot work, things of that nature, and I was able to get to it," James told reporters. "Once I fade, I don't really see the defender as much, and I'm just focusing on the target." The Hawks should represent a soft target as they come in on an eight-game losing streak. Atlanta is trying to figure out life after the departures of Paul Millsap, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Howard and is struggling to find anyone to help Dennis Schroder cover the scoring loss.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (1-8): Kent Bazemore led Atlanta with 18 points in Friday's 119-104 loss to Houston but he is struggling to find any consistency and is shooting 37 percent from the floor on the season, including 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. Small forward Taurean Prince is another candidate to lend some support to Schroder and is averaging 17.3 points in the last four games. A bright spot off the bench is rookie center John Collins, who hauled in 12 rebounds in Friday's setback and is averaging 10.6 points and 7.8 boards in 20.3 minutes.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (4-5): James (32 years, 308 days) became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 29,000 points during Friday's performance and needed to play 43 minutes to keep his team from suffering a fifth consecutive setback. "He knew how important this was for us, after losing four in a row," Cleveland guard Dwyane Wade told reporters. "He put us on his back, and everyone chipped in." James' performance helped the Cavaliers overcome another poor defensive performance in which they allowed the Wizards to shoot 53.6 percent from the floor - the fourth straight game in which they allowed an opponent to shoot better than 47 percent from the floor.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers C Tristan Thompson (calf) sat out Friday and will miss the next month.

2. Hawks G Malcolm Delaney (ankle) sat out Friday and is day-to-day.

3. Atlanta took three of the four meetings last season, including both games at Cleveland.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 125, Hawks 103