Dallas @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2017 ) Cleveland 111, Dallas 104

The Cleveland Cavaliers are winners of seven of their last eight games but are still fighting off a pair of teams to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers will try not to overlook the visiting Dallas Mavericks when they continue a four-game homestand on Sunday.

Cleveland will face three straight East playoff teams after finishing up with the lowly Mavericks, including a date with the East-leading Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. The Cavaliers are following the lead of superstar LeBron James, who scored 27 points in Friday's 107-102 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans to reach double figures for the 867th straight game, breaking a record previously held by Michael Jordan. "It will probably go in my trophy case with a lot of accomplishments in my life," James told reporters, referencing the game ball that he kept as a memento. "That's a good moment, a special moment not only for myself but for my family and for so many kids that look up to me for inspiration, to know that you can actually go out there and do it." Dallas dropped seven of its last eight games but played another potential playoff team tough before falling just short in a 93-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Southwest (Dallas), FS Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (23-53): Dallas is looking for improvement from its young players as the season draws to a close and rookies Dennis Smith Jr. and Max Kleber are putting up solid performances. Smith battled foul trouble on Friday but still managed to record 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting and seven assists in 26 minutes and is averaging 17.8 points over the last four games. Kleber added 10 points in Friday's loss but did his best work on the defensive end with four blocks.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (46-30): Cleveland is getting healthy as it advances toward the postseason, and head coach Tyronn Lue is the next one expected to return. Lue missed the last eight games while dealing with health issues but attended Friday's game and the Cavaliers have a plan to increase his involvement gradually at practice and shootaround before he takes his place back on the bench. "I know he's itching to get back," assistant coach Larry Drew, who is serving as head coach while Lue is away, told reporters on Friday. "He's talked to management here in the organization and they've come up with a plan as far as when it's time for him to come back how often he'll be around and how they want to move forward as far as him getting used to getting back into the grind."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Mavericks SF Doug McDermott is 9-of-14 from 3-point range over the last five games.

2. Cavaliers PG George Hill (ankle) left Friday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Cleveland took five of the last six in the series, including a 111-104 win at Dallas on Nov. 11.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 109, Mavericks 99