The Cleveland Cavaliers have been able to take full advantage of LeBron James' outstanding play over the last two weeks. They've never been able to give him much help in New Jersey, though.
Winners of seven straight thanks largely to James' strong surge, the Cavaliers look to win on the road against the Nets for just the second time in nine games as the teams meet Tuesday night.Cleveland (8-2) has won seven straight, with James earning consecutive Eastern Conference player of the week awards. In three games last week, James averaged 33.7 points, 8.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 60 percent.
"I think we are growing up ... and it doesn't matter who is on the court," James said after finishing with 38 points and seven assists in the Cavaliers' 105-93 win over Utah on Saturday night.
James has also been stellar in eight career games at New Jersey, averaging 30.1 points, 7.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds. Cleveland, though, has just one win in that span, 108-102 on April 8, 2006.
New Jersey (4-5) went 3-1 against Cleveland last season, averaging 104.5 points in two wins at home.
But the Cavaliers have won two straight on the road after dropping their first two. Cleveland has turned the ball over 11 times in each of its last two games away from Quicken Loans Arena, and averaged 11.7 during its winning streak.
New Jersey, meanwhile, scored 24 points off 17 turnovers in a 119-107 win at Atlanta on Saturday night, completing a sweep of a two-day, home-and-home series. The Nets beat the Hawks 115-108 in the opener.
Devin Harris led the Nets in both contests after a sprained left ankle forced him to miss three straight games, all New Jersey losses. Harris scored 33 points Saturday after a 30-point effort the previous night.
"I'm in attack mode, commanding the paint," Harris said.
Harris, who added 10 assists, has three straight games with at least 30 points. He set a career high with 38 against Detroit on Nov. 7 before the injury.
"Confidence does amazing things," Harris said as he tried to explain his sudden scoring surge.
"Maybe I wasn't being aggressive enough," he said. "Maybe I didn't fully understand what I needed to do. You never know until you try. The Detroit game kind of opened my eyes."
Harris helped the Nets set a season high in scoring for the second straight game. The fourth-year point guard, though, is averaging only 10.8 points in eight career games against Cleveland.
Nets swingman Vince Carter, meanwhile, has been held under 20 points in three of his last four games versus the Cavaliers. He's averaging 27.7 points over his last three games overall.
Jarvis Hayes, Carter's backup, had 14 points Saturday before suffering back spasms when he landed awkwardly following a collision with teammate Brook Lopez with 4:48 left. He was escorted to the locker room and did not return, but the injury is not thought to be serious.
