Fresh from picking up a 10th victory in 11 matches, the Cleveland Cavaliers will entertain the challenge of the Memphis Grizzlies at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Monday.
The away side, meanwhile, head to Ohio in search of consecutive wins for the first time since early February having emerged victorious from a nail-biting contest last time out.
Match preview
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After resuming from the All-Star hiatus with a 110-97 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets, the Cavaliers made light work of the New York Knicks thanks to a 142-105 victory when the sides locked horns on Saturday.
A 41-point first-quarter display signalled real intent early on from Kenny Atkinson's men, who went on to tally their third-highest points in a game this season to win by a whopping margin of 37, having led by as many as 42 at one point.
All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley led the onslaught on the Nets with 27 and 21 points respectively, although Darius Garland did endure a rough shooting night, going 2-12 from the field for a meagre nine points.
Now 46-10 for the season, the Cavs currently boast the best record of any NBA team so far and are now six wins clear of defending champions Boston Celtics, their nearest challengers in the Eastern Conference.
They will now seek to make a winning start to this season's series against Monday's opponents, who were comprehensively beaten across both of last season's encounters, albeit with much changing since then.
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Off the back of consecutive defeats to the Los Angeles Clippers and the Indiana Pacers either side of the All-Star break, the Grizzlies headed to the Amway Center on Saturday for a meeting against the Orlando Magic aiming to avoid three losses on the bounce for the first time this season.
Down by four points heading into the final 150 seconds, Taylor Jenkins's men ended the game on a 5-0 run to edge a back-and-forth contest that saw several lead changes as both teams went full throttle.
Bouncing back from his underwhelming 12-point outing against the Pacers, Ja Morant tallied 23 points on 10-24 shooting to go along with four rebounds and five assists, while fellow guard Desmond Bane chipped in with 16 points.
Leapfrogging the Denver Nuggets, the Grizzlies have now moved up into second place in the Western Conference as the race to finish as runners-up behind the seemingly uncatchable Oklahoma City Thunder heats up.
Monday's game wraps up a run of five consecutive away outings for the visitors before they embark on a five-game homestretch against the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and the Thunder.
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Team News
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JT Thor is ruled out for the Cleveland Cavaliers here as he continues to battle with an injury problem that has kept him out of action since early February.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Jarrett Allen is a major doubt for the home side after coming off with a right-hand injury against the New York Knicks earlier today.
Should Allen be deemed unfit to participate in this one, Dean Wade could be recalled to the starting five here with Evan Mobley moving to the center position.
Vince Williams Jr is the Grizzlies' only injury concern for this one after missing Saturday's victory due to a knee problem he picked up against the Indiana Pacers.
However, the guard is being evaluated on a daily basis and could return to suit up for Monday's affair or Wednesday's encounter against the Suns at the latest.
Cleveland Cavaliers possible starting five:
Garland, Mitchell; Strus, Wade; Mobley
Memphis Grizzlies possible starting five:
Morant, Bane; Wells, Jackson Jr; Edey
We say: Cavaliers to win by 5+ points
The Cavaliers have dominated this fixture over the last two years, and while Monday's game will see them face off against the strongest Grizzlies side in that time, we are still backing the home side to carry the day when all is said and done.
Adepoju Marvellous
