Miami faces conference rival Cleveland
Cleveland Cavaliers (15-40, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (35-20, fourth in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland takes on Miami in Eastern Conference action Saturday.
The Heat are 23-8 in Eastern Conference games. Miami has a 4-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Cavaliers are 10-28 against conference opponents. Cleveland is 4-17 when opponents win the rebound battle and averages 44.4 rebounds per game.
The two teams matchup for the third time this season. The Heat defeated the Cavaliers 124-100 in their last meeting on Nov. 20. Duncan Robinson led Miami with 29 points, and Kevin Love paced Cleveland scoring 25 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jae Crowder leads the Heat with 3.5 made 3-pointers and averages 17 points while shooting 56 percent from beyond the arc. Jimmy Butler has averaged 17.5 points and added five rebounds while shooting 40.6 percent over the last 10 games for Miami.
Andre Drummond leads the Cavaliers averaging 15 points and is adding 13.7 rebounds. Love has averaged 3.1 made 3-pointers and scored 16.1 points over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 4-6, averaging 110.8 points, 43.9 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109 points on 44.9 percent shooting.
Cavaliers: 3-7, averaging 112.2 points, 45.8 rebounds, 26 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.3 points on 49.4 percent shooting.
INJURIES: Heat: Meyers Leonard: out (ankle), Kyle Alexander: out (knee), Tyler Herro: out (right ankle).
Cavaliers: Alfonzo McKinnie: day to day (foot).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.