Houston @ Cleveland preview
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Last Meeting ( Mar 26, 2023 ) Houston 91, Cleveland 108
The Cleveland Cavaliers will continue a four-game homestand on Monday when they face the visiting Houston Rockets, who are playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Houston's five-game winning streak ended in the first leg of its back-to-back on Sunday. The Rockets fell 128-119 in Milwaukee after giving up 39 points and 11 assists to Damian Lillard and 26 points and 17 rebounds to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The 128 points were the second most the Houston defense has allowed on the season. The Rockets surrender 106.1 points per game, second fewest in the NBA.
All five Houston starters scored in double figures on Sunday, led by Fred VanVleet, who had 22 points and went 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Alperen Sengun added 20 points and eight rebounds, Dillon Brooks scored 18 points before he was ejected in the fourth quarter and Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. each scored 16 points.
Jeff Green added another 16 points off the bench. Fellow reserve Tari Eason played 30 minutes and scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
"Playing hard, effort, things that he does in general," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Eason's contributions against the Bucks. "He can guard multiple guys and does a lot of things well. We need to be on board as far as that with effort."
Houston will lean on its balanced offense and depth on Monday, looking to start a new winning streak as the Rockets wrap up a three-game road swing.
Cleveland snapped a three-game skid in the first date of its current homestand, beating the Atlanta Hawks 127-119 on Saturday.
The Cavaliers dropped the final three contests of a four-game trip, with a loss at Orlando and two straight setbacks at Boston. Cleveland played all four games of that stretch, including a trip-opening win at Miami, without forward Evan Mobley. Mobley was also absent in the win over Atlanta.
Mobley will undergo surgery to correct a nagging injury to his left knee and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He averaged 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds through his first 21 games this season.
Cleveland will also be without point guard Darius Garland, who fractured his jaw in a 116-107 loss to the Celtics on Thursday. Garland is expected to be out for four weeks.
Garland is the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, trailing only Donovan Mitchell (27.3 points per game). Garland also logs a team-high 5.9 assists per contest.
Against the Hawks, Isaac Okoro made his first start since Nov. 1, helping fill the void left by Garland in the backcourt. Okoro matched his season high with 18 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Dean Wade also netted a season high on Saturday with 16 points. He canned 4 of 7 3-pointers.
"We keep talking about, with guys out, everybody just needs to be who they are and be confident with it," Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Dean is able to make those shots. Teams want to help off of him, he's going to be the guy (who's) open a lot. And he's got to shoot that ball with confidence, even if he misses one."
--Field Level Media