Toronto @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2018 ) Toronto 129, Cleveland 132

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting hot at a good time and seek their ninth victory in the past 10 games when they host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Cleveland's revamped roster is finding a comfort zone as the Cavaliers are in third place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers.

LeBron James is feeling good about Cleveland's postseason chances while fellow forward Kevin Love would like to see the Cavaliers reach the 50-victory mark. "I think we'd all like to get 50 wins," Love told reporters after Sunday's 98-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. "If we don't, it's not going to be the 'end-of-the-world' type of deal. It's something, especially with ups and downs of any season, it would be great to get over that hump." Toronto holds a two-game lead over Boston for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the gap was narrowed when the Celtics posted a 110-99 victory over the Raptors on Saturday. Toronto needs to win just two of its final six games to set a new franchise mark for victories (56-26 in 2015-16).

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Toronto), FS Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (55-21): Toronto has been a bit unsteady over the past two weeks with four losses in seven games but remaining on top in the East remains of paramount importance. "We want to win the Eastern Conference," All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters. "That's our goal to fulfill that opportunity and we got to take advantage of it." DeRozan contributed 32 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the loss to Boston and appears to have regained his shooting touch by going 19-of-31 over the past two games after struggling through a 17-of-49 stretch over the previous three contests.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (47-30): James experienced a porous shooting performance against the Mavericks when he was just 5-of-21 from the field while posting his 17th triple-double of the season with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. "I missed four, five, maybe six layups, which I'm not accustomed to doing," James told reporters after the contest. "But me not shooting the ball well never stopped me making an impact on the game. So if I'm not shooting well, I gotta make sure I get my guys on time, on target with my passes and I gotta rebound and I gotta do other things to help us win and I was able to do that." Love had 13 points and 13 rebounds in the contest for his 30th double-double of this season and the 400th of his career.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams split two meetings earlier this season, with the Raptors' win coming by a convincing 133-99 on Jan. 11 in Toronto.

2. Toronto was 8-of-35 from 3-point range against Boston to see its franchise-record streak of 17 straight games with 10 or more come to an end.

3. Cleveland PG George Hill (ankle) will likely miss his second straight game.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 115, Raptors 109