Cleveland @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 16, 2017 ) Utah 100, Cleveland 109

The Utah Jazz just got done getting run over by one of the NBA Finals participants from last season, and now they have to play the other. The Jazz will try to bounce back from a 126-101 loss to the Golden State Warriors when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

The loss on Wednesday was the third straight for the Jazz, who are being outscored by an average of 21 points in that span. "We stopped getting back on defense, and it was like the floodgates opened," guard Rodney Hood told reporters. "They'll do that to you. They're a great team, but that third quarter (when the Jazz were outscored 42-22) just can't happen if we want to compete." The Cavaliers are capable of opening the floodgates on other teams but are coming off a pair of losses in which they failed to reach 100 points. "Sometimes, when you're winning as much as you're winning, you have slippage," Cleveland guard Dwyane Wade told reporters. "We've had some slippage, and we've got to figure out a way to nip it in the bud before it becomes: 'We in a rut, and we've got to get ourselves back out of it.'"

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (24-11): The spark Cleveland is looking for could come from point guard Isaiah Thomas, who is close to making his return from a hip injury and is expected to scrimmage with the team at practice on Friday for the first time. "Dynamic scorer. I think a guy who can score 10, 12, 14 points in a row," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told ESPN.com of Thomas. "Can run pick-and-roll, can come off screens. He gets to the free throw line. So he adds a different dynamic to our team offensively." Thomas was acquired from Boston over the summer in the deal that sent Kyrie Irving away and averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists with the Celtics in 2016-17.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (15-21): The absence of center Rudy Gobert (knee) leaves Utah without its defensive anchor and most consistent inside scoring threat, and rookie Donovan Mitchell is trying to pick up some of the slack. The Louisville product scored 17 points while matching a season high with seven rebounds in Wednesday's loss and is averaging 22.6 points on 50 percent shooting in December. Hood is trying to pull out of a shooting slump and went 9-of-20 from the floor on Wednesday after going a combined 7-of-31 in his previous two contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers PF Kevin Love is averaging 25.4 points and shooting 50 percent from 3-point range over the last five games.

2. Utah benched SF Jonas Jerebko on Wednesday in favor of Thabo Sefolosha, who scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

3. Cleveland earned 109-100 win over Utah at home on Dec. 16 as LeBron James recorded a triple-double.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 112, Jazz 108