The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers are playing live on the NBA schedule on Sunday and the game has LeBron James and Kevin Durant facing off and will be on ABC and ESPN3 on the WatchESPN website online as Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook take the floor in a marquee game at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers have been much improved since making trades for JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov and now they are 24-20 after previously dipping under .500. The team comes in after a win against the Charlotte Hornets by over 30 points and they matchup with the Pistons on the road after hosting the Thunder. The team comes in ranked 13th in the league in points per game and they need to improve on defense, as they have been allowing 100 points per game this season.
OKC comes in 22-21 on the season and they have the chance to get back into the mix after playing without Durant and Westbrook at the beginning of the season. James comes in leading the team in scoring and he had 25 points and nine assists against the Hornets, while Mozgov had 10 rebounds to lead the way. The Thunder come into the game after a loss against the Atlanta Hawks and they now play against the Cavaliers before a matchup with the Timberwolves and that will be at home.
The Thunder are second in the northwest division and they got 22 points and 11 assists from Westbrook against the Hawks. Serge Ibaka led the team with 10 rebounds and the team is ranked first overall in the league in rebounds per game. The team defense is ranked in the top half of the league and they now have a tough test with LeBron James and company hosting the game. Kevin Durant is leading the Thunder in scoring with 25 points per game while James is tops for the Cavaliers with 26 points per game.
The Cavaliers have won five straight games and James has looked good since coming back from a multi week absence and that has helped the Cavs bounce back from a slow start. The team has played inconsistent on defense for most of the season and they are looking to get better on defense heading into the second half of the year. Love has been struggling over the past week and a half and he is looking to bounce back after a few slow games.
Oklahoma City has played well since Kevin Durant and Westbrook have come back and they have lost just six games when both players are in the lineup. OKC will provide a good test for the Cavs, as they need to play better against top competition and the Thunder have been one of the best since their stars have come back. Dion Waiters will get the chance to matchup with the Cavaliers after he was traded and this is the first matchup since that move.
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