LeBron, Cavs visit Clippers

This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. Cleveland is scheduled to host the Clippers on February 7th at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland has lost three straight and five of its last six at the Clippers. The teams have split the last six contests in this series.

Los Angeles, which is 10 1/2 games off the lead in the Pacific, returns home after going 3-3 on a six-game road trip. Corey Maggette’s jumper with 4.8 seconds to play gave the Clippers a 92-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at the Target Center.

Maggette had 21 points and eight rebounds in the victory, while Elton Brand netted 21 and pulled down six boards for Los Angeles, which has won two straight and six of its last nine games overall. Veteran Sam Cassell finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win.

On the injury front for the Clippers, center Chris Kaman (sprained right ankle) is questionable for tonight’s contest. Kaman, who has missed five games this season, is averaging 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds this season.

The Clippers are 12-6 as the host this season. They will visit the Golden State Warriors on Monday at ORACLE Arena.

Cleveland plays the third of a season-long seven-game road trip. It is 1-1 on the swing. On Thursday, Steve Nash dished out a season-high 21 assists to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 109-90 victory over the Cavaliers at US Airways Center.

LeBron James ended with a game-high 34 points on 15-of-28 from the field for the Central Division-leading Cavaliers, who had their five-game winning streak halted. Drew Gooden scored 11 points for Cleveland, which shot 37.9 percent from the field in defeat.

James has scored more than 30 points in two straight and five of his last eight games. He leads the Cavaliers in scoring (26.8 ppg) and assists (6.1 apg).

The Cavaliers are 7-10 on the road this season. They will also visit Seattle, Portland, Denver and Golden State on the current road trip.