Cleveland Cavaliers (47-26) at Brooklyn Nets (30-40), 7:30 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will go for their fifth consecutive victory Friday night when they visit the Barclays Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets.
Despite the Cavs' recent success, they still trail the Atlanta Hawks by eight games for Eastern Conference supremacy. Cleveland is three games in front of the Chicago Bulls for the lead in the Central Division and the No. 2 seed in the conference.
Cleveland, which is 8-1 in its last nine and owns a two-game road winning streak, played magnificently on Wednesday in a 111-89 romp in Memphis over the Grizzlies.
Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and the Cavaliers led by as much as 29 versus the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Love added 22 points and 10 rebounds and LeBron James scored 20 for the Cavaliers.
The Cavs, who moved to 14-1 in their last 15 against the highly-vaunted Western Conference, led the Grizzlies for the final 41:41 of the game but didn't pull away until a 15-0 run in the third quarter.
Cleveland was 14-of-34 from beyond the arc and shot 51.2 percent overall. The Cavs held Memphis to 43.5 percent shooting, including 4-of-17 from 3-point range.
"We came to play, obviously," said Cavs coach David Blatt. "We were focused on having a defensive presence and intensity in the first quarter and had that from the get-go. I really like the way we came into the game and how we played."
The Cavaliers return to Quicken Loans Arena Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers. They'll also host the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on that residency.
The Nets have won three of their last four and are back in the mix for a postseason berth. They, along with the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers, trail the Boston Celtics by a half-game for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Wednesday, Brooklyn traveled to Charlotte and knocked off one of its primary contenders for that playoff spot. The Nets prevailed, 91-88, over the Hornets.
Brook Lopez scored 34 points -- including 10 in the fourth quarter -- and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Nets. Deron Williams added 10 points and handed out 14 assists.
Lopez could have easily been the goat. Inbounding the ball with the Nets up three with three seconds left, his pass to Williams under duress was tipped out of bounds by Williams. However, Lopez redeemed himself a moment later when he deflected Charlotte's inbounds pass to seal the win.
"We've just been playing great together as a team," said Lopez. "We're all playing with a lot of confidence in each other."
The Nets are without forward Thaddeus Young, who hyperextended his left knee.
Brooklyn hosts the Los Angeles Lakers and Pacers on this homestand.
Cleveland has won four in a row over the Nets, including a Dec. 8 affair in Brooklyn, where James got to meet Prince William and Kate Middleton, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.