Cleveland @ Brooklyn preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 27, 2018 ) Brooklyn 123, Cleveland 129

The Cleveland Cavaliers are starting to put the pieces together as they get set for another playoff run and ran their winning streak to four in a row by trouncing the Phoenix Suns 120-95 on Friday. The Cavaliers will try to keep it rolling on the road when they open a three-game trip by visiting the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Cleveland, which will play five of its remaining 10 games against teams with losing records, is getting healthy as well and welcomed back Rodney Hood (back), Tristan Thompson (ankle) and Larry Nance Jr. (hamstring) in Friday's win and is just waiting on Kyle Korver (personal) and Cedi Osman (hip) to get back. "Ten games is enough time when you have your whole team back for the first time all season, it gives you an opportunity to, No. 1, establish some type of rotation that you're going to be using," assistant coach Larry Drew, who is acting as the head coach while Tyronn Lue sits out due to illness, told reporters. "Two, these guys are for the first time all playing together. They get to really get a feel for one another. ... Now we'll be getting everybody back. Whether it's 10 games, whether it's five games, we have to take those games and really use them to our advantage." Brooklyn is sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings but is still putting up a good effort and took the East-leading Toronto Raptors down to the wire before falling 116-112 on Friday. "We're not into moral victories, but I did like our compete," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Ohio (Cleveland), YES (Brooklyn)

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (43-29): LeBron James is averaging 34 points on 59.1 percent shooting, 10.8 assists and 10.4 rebounds in the last five games to carry Cleveland. "I mean, listen, I'm staying even keel because you can have a great week like this week, and then you can have a horrible week next week," James told reporters. "I'll stay even keel. Listen, we got better this week. We played well this week. We won some really good games versus teams that are at the top, teams that are at the bottom, and we worked our habits. We just want to continue to not get too high about what we just accomplished." Nance, Hood and Thompson all came off the bench and played on a minutes restriction on Friday and will be worked back in slowly.

ABOUT THE NETS (23-50): Brooklyn squandered a 23-point lead in a loss to Charlotte on Wednesday and was up nine at the start of the fourth quarter against the Raptors before falling off, but it is trying to find the positives. "We were one play away," guard D'Angelo Russell said, according to Newsday. "Coach keeps preaching it. I think everybody is buying in. A lot of our games come down to that one play. I think good karma is coming our way. We've just got to stay competitive and stay locked in these last few games." Russell recorded the first triple-double of his career with 18 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds on Friday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets SG Allen Crabbe is 11-of-20 from 3-point range in three games since returning from an illness.

2. Cavaliers SF Jeff Green (illness) left Friday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Cleveland took the last two meetings -- both at home -- but suffered a 112-107 loss in Brooklyn on Oct. 25.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 123, Nets 111