The Miami Heat (7-15) is set to meet defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers (15-5) at the Quicken Loans Arena on Friday, Dec. 9 for a 2016-2017 NBA season match.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Miami is on a three-game losing slide after previously winning two straight games. They are currently third from the last place in the Eastern Conference standings, four games behind eight-place team Detroit Pistons.
The Heat is coming off a 103-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on the road last Wednesday night at the Philips Arena, as per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Goran Dragic led head coach Erik Spoelstra's squad with 21 points, two rebounds, and four assists in a losing effort. Starting shooting guard Wayne Ellington backed him up with 19 points, three boards, and two assists while undrafted player Rodney McGruder had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Off the bench, Tyler Johnson scored a game-high 27 points with two boards and five assists.
Miami particularly struggled in their matchups inside the paint as Dwight Howard manhandled Hassan Whiteside with 23 points and 17 boards. The Heat was outscored 58-26 in terms of inside scoring.
Despite the beating they had against the Hawks' bigs, Whiteside remained hopeful saying that "we're working with what we have right now", acknowledging that his teammates are already "doing their best".
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers won their second straight game by thrashing the New York Knicks, 126-94, at the Madison Square Garden also on Wednesday, Cleveland.com reported.
Kyrie Irving top-scored for the Cavs with 28 points along with two rebounds and six assists while LeBron James had 25 points, six boards, seven assists, one steal, and two blocks. Kevin Love was the third 20-point scorer for the defending champs with 21 points.
Tristan Thompson was a monster off the boards with 20 rebounds despite scoring only three points. Off the bench, Iman Shumpert fired 14 markers with six boards.
Prediction
Miami is a decent road team with a 5-7 record so far this season while Cleveland is almost unbeatable at home with a 9-2 slate. A third consecutive victory for the Cavs is predicted.