The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder are playing live on the NBA schedule on Thursday and the game from Quicken Loans Arena will be on TNT starting at 8 pm ET. Kevin Durant and LeBron James will be battling in the game and Kyrie Irving remains sidelined after reports came out that he could return for the OKC game.
The Cavaliers come in as the best team in the east and they have played all season without Irving and once he comes back, the team should be even better. The team lost three straight during a stretch recently, but the team has bounced back with a winning streak and now they will face off against Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
The Cavs have won three games in a row against the Blazers, Magic and Celtics after losing three in a row and the team will match up with the Sixers and Knicks next. The team plays the Warriors on Christmas and that holiday matchup is a rematch of the NBA finals and will be a very anticipated game even with the Warriors finally losing a game. The Cavs have finals expectations again and they will face off against one of the best team in the west with the Thunder coming in.
Irving likely will be out until next week and he may return against the Sixers before the cavs play against the Warriors. Iman Shumpert just returned from an injury for the Cavaliers, but he suffered a groin injury against the Celtics and now will miss at least a game or two for the Cavs. Irving and Shumpert both started the season on the sidelines after having surgery and the Cavaliers are hoping to have each of them back for the duration of the season once they return.
Mo Williams is banged up with a thumb injury and that gives the Cavs a short bench against the Thunder. The Cavs are 16-7 this season and they match up with the Thunder, who are 17-8 coming into the game. OKC is on a good streak and they have won six games in a row and have only lost twice in the past 12 games coming into the matchup with the Cavs.
Durant has been averaging 25 points per game during the streak and has been shooting over 55 percent and Westbrook has also been impressive this season. The Cave have three games at home after the road matchups and the team has been impressive on offense and are 10-1 at home this season. James heaped some praise on Durant coming into the game and now the two former MVP players will battle on Thursday.
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Check here for the stats, play by play, score and updates for the game.
