Phoenix Suns vs Cleveland Cavaliers
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 115, Suns 93

Oddsmakers opened the Cavaliers as -14.5-point favorites versus the Suns, while the game’s total opened at 221.

The Cleveland Cavaliers freely acknowledge they are in a bit of a slump. Now they could be without one of their superstars when they host the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Kevin Love did not participate in contact drills during Wednesday’s practice because of a sore back and is considered questionable for the Suns.

Love sat the second half of Monday’s demolition at the hands of the Golden State Warriors and Love was confident after the game the tightness in his lower back wouldn’t force him to miss any games.

The Cavs, however, have been conservative with injuries this season and are being so again.

Kyle Korver started the second half in place of Love on Monday and might be in line to make his first start since joining the Cavaliers if Love is unable to play.

Korver has participated in two practices since the trade from Atlanta and is beginning to feel more comfortable in the Cavs’ system, but it all remains a work in progress.

Coach Tyronn Lue is installing motion sets for the second unit that will benefit Korver because they are similar to some of the sets he ran with the Hawks.

But they are foreign to the entire reserves unit because the Cavs have never used them before.

That’s only one of the reasons the Cavs’ assist totals are down and turnovers are up. The Cavs have finished with more turnovers than assists in four of their last five games and five of their last seven.

Lue said the goal on the recently-concluded West Coast trip was 4-2, but instead they went 3-3, including a humiliating 35-point loss at the Warriors on Monday.

“The last game wasn’t our best game, but it is what it is,” Lue said. “We were one game down from where we wanted to be going into this trip, so not a big deal. We can make that up.”

The Cavaliers squandered a 22-point lead to the Suns last week at Phoenix before holding on for a four-point victory against the worst team in the Western Conference.

Center Tyson Chandler, guard Brandon Knight and forward Jared Dudley of the Suns missed Monday’s home loss to the Utah Jazz. Chandler had a stomach virus and should be available Thursday for the first stop on the Suns’ three-game swing through the Eastern Conference.

Knight has missed three of the last six games because of a sprained right wrist and Dudley was battling dizziness.

Coach Earl Watson isn’t sure yet on the status of Knight and Dudley and indicated the team was fighting some kind of bug after the long travel day.

“We’re taking it one day at a time,” Watson told the Arizona Republic. “We had a lot of guys sick from the trip and just the travel. A lot of guys are kind of banged up.”

With the Suns missing so many key pieces, Devin Booker played a career-high 46 minutes on Monday. Watson said he’s fine playing him so many minutes.

“It’s more of just who he’s going to be in our league,” Watson told the Republic. “He’s a player who needs to play most of the game. He’s young. He can recover quickly and he’s playing great, so he needs to be on the court more.”

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM  ET, Friday, January 13, 2017
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 115, Kings 107

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Cleveland Cavaliers made it to Sacramento without a snow-dictated hiccup. In that respect, the latest stop on their Western tour already is better than their previous one.

Now, if they can get just their guards to starting raining again.

The weather-whipped defending champs will try to end a two-game losing streak Wednesday when they face the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center, and they would figure to be a bit refreshed.

Cleveland (28-10) lost 100-92 at Utah on Tuesday night, then arrived at Portland at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and got to the hotel after 4 a.m. amid a blizzard.

On Wednesday night against the Trail Blazers, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Korver clanked 5 of 21 shots from the field, continuing a recent slump that has LeBron James’ bunch trying to avoid its second three-game losing streak of the season as the Cavs continue a season-high, six-game road trip.

The two guards are generally are far more consistent, having combined to shoot 41.6 percent from 3-point range in their careers.

Irving, who went 4 of 16 from the floor against Portland, is shooting just 36.2 percent (29 of 80) from the field in four games since returning from a slightly pulled hamstring. He canned just 10 of 26 attempts (38.4 percent) from beyond the arc in that span.

“In Kyrie’s case, he missed three games, almost a week … and you can lose a lot of timing,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told Cleveland.com. “Right now, he’s just struggling to find his timing. A few times (against Portland), he had open shots he didn’t take.”

In Korver’s case, the former Atlanta guard still appears to be finding his way. Korver, 36, was acquired from the Hawks for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a 2019 first-round pick on Saturday. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts in the two games he has played with Cavs, and he has scored only a combined four points on 2-of-10 shooting in 43 minutes.

The Kings (16-22) might not be a bad team for Irving and Korver to get well against. Sacramento allows opponents to shoot 38 percent from beyond the arc, the third-worst mark in the NBA. The Detroit Pistons bombed away for 12 against them Tuesday while falling 100-94 to the Kings.

Even so, Sacramento finds itself in a relatively sunny place despite the backdrop of torrential downpours over the past week that have been the state capital’s worst in years. The win over the Pistons ended a four-game home losing streak and a three-game skid overall.

Sacramento’s franchise player, center DeMarcus Cousins, also lent credence to reports that he will stick around long term by signing a five-year, $207 million contract this summer.

“Guess what people?” he said after the game. “I’m here!”

Cousins hit the biggest shots in the comeback against Detroit. However, he said that until the Kings become more consistent, they can’t say they are making much progress.

“It’s been well noticed that we’re a team that can come back in the fourth quarter and all that, but it’s starting to run its course,” he said. “We can’t keep putting ourselves in a situation where we have to have these dramatic finishes at the end, because it’s not always going to turn out (with a win). We need to put a full four quarters together.”

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Portland Trail Blazers
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Orego

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), KGW (Portland)
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 116, Trail Blazers 103

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers will be coming into Wednesday night’s Moda Center matchup with different mindsets after opposite results on Tuesday.

The Trail Blazers outscored the Los Angeles Lakers 53-30 in the second half en route to a 108-87 victory Tuesday night at Staples Center.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, fell behind early and never recovered in a 100-92 loss to Utah at EnergySolutions Arena.

CJ McCollum topped the 20-point mark for the eighth straight game with a game-high 25 points for Portland (17-23), which beat the Lakers for the 10th consecutive time.

“I’ve been playing pretty efficiently over that stretch,” McCollum said. “I’m being aggressive, trying to make the right moves to help my team win.”

Damian Lillard scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, most of them after a third-quarter altercation with the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell that earned technical fouls for both players. Lillard was 1 for 10 from the field in the first half and 6 for 11 after intermission.

“You should always let sleeping dogs lie,” Portland forward Ed Davis said. “They woke him up. Bad move by them.”

The Blazers, who held the Lakers to 12 points in the third quarter. It was a season-low for any quarter by the Lakers and a season low for any quarter by a Blazer opponent.

“We did a good job of defending without fouling and getting back into transition to eliminate their easy baskets,” McCollum said. “That was the difference in the game.”

McCollum said he is looking forward to the Cavaliers’ annual visit to Portland.

“We’re both come off back-to-backs,” he said. “Cleveland is a very good team. We just have to take advantage of our home crowd and try to put on a show. It is going to be mind over matter.”

The Cavaliers (28-9) are 2-1 to start their six-game road trip, but coach Tyron Lue is not pleased with how they’re taking care of the ball. They had 20 turnovers in a Sunday win over Phoenix and 18 in the setback at Utah.

“If you turn the basketball over and you’re taking bad shots … if you don’t play the right way, it can come back to bite you,” Lue said.

The last time the Blazers and Cavaliers met up, Cleveland’s Kevin Love had a career game in a 137-125 victory Nov. 23 at Quicken Loans Arena. The Portland native scored 40 points, sinking 8 of 12 from 3-point range. Love had 34 points in the first quarter — three shy of Klay Thompson’s NBA record for points in any quarter — sinking 11 of 14 shots, including 8 of 10 from 3-point land. Love outscored the Blazers 34-31 during the Cavs’ 46-point first quarter.

Kyle Korver made his debut in a Cleveland uniform Tuesday night at Utah without the benefit of a practice or shootaround. The veteran guard, acquired Monday in a trade with Atlanta, was 0 for 2 on 3-point attempts and scored two points on 1-for-5 shooting.

Said teammate LeBron James: “The first thing I told him was, ‘If you want to fit in, shoot the ball every time you get it. Shoot it as soon as it touches your hands. Shoot it. We don’t care.'”

James said five Cavs have the “ultra green light” to shoot: Korver, Love, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye and James Jones.

“Then we got a green light for Kyrie (Irving), and a flashing light for myself,” James said.

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James scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs fought off Phoenix down the stretch for a 120-116 victory Sunday night.

”I am just confident in my ability,” James said. ”I work on my craft. I work on my shooting every day so it is always an option I could go to. I just try to mix it up, playing interior, playing transition, playing on the exterior and I was able to knock a couple of them down.”

Kyrie Irving added 27 points and Kevin Love 25 for the Cavaliers. They led by as many as 22 in the first half and 20 early in the third quarter.

”We play well, you play hard and get the lead and playing the right way then we just messed around,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Suns tied it late in the third and got within one in the fourth but never took the lead.

”We made enough plays down the stretch to win,” James said. ”We played good ball except for the third quarter. We allowed them to get out in transition and them being young and athletic they took advantage of it.”

Eric Bledsoe scored 31 points and Devin Booker had 28 for the Suns.

James sank consecutive 3-pointers, his only 3s of the game, to give Cleveland a 115-109 lead with 2:46 to play and scored on a driving layup with 44 seconds left to make it 120-114.

”That’s what makes him one of the greatest,” Booker said. ”We knew down the stretch he wants the ball in his hands and he wants to make the play and he did that. He hit two tough shots, 3s in transition.”

The young Suns turned aggressive and got their running game going to outscore Cleveland 25-7 in one stretch of the third quarter. Tyson Chandler’s inside basket cut the Cav’ lead to 84-82 with 3:31 left in the period.

Phoenix tied it twice before the quarter ended, the last at 90 when Booker banked in an 8-footer with 11.2 seconds left, but Irving sank a 3 at the buzzer and Cleveland led entering the fourth 93-90.

The Sun got within one three times early in the final quarter, the last at 98-97 on Booker’s left-handed drive with 9:37 left. After Phoenix rookie Dragan Bender missed a 3, Irving sank one, then added an acrobatic driving layup to put the Cavaliers up 104-98 with 7:38 left.

The Suns still were down only 109-107 after Marquese Chriss made one of two free throws with 4:28 to play but James sank his first three to boost it to 112-107. Bledsoe’s layup cut it to 112-109, and James sank his second 3 to make it a six-point game. Phoenix never got closer than four after that.

”I’m mad we lost but at the same time this is one of those games that was I guess a good loss,” Bledsoe said. ”We competed with one of the top teams in the league. To be down like that and come back says a lot. We’ve just got to start playing like this night in and night out.”

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Two days after agreeing to the deal, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a trade with Atlanta for Kyle Korver, one of the league’s best 3-point shooters, who will be able to spot up on the perimeter and wait for LeBron James to pass him the ball.

The Cavs sent forward Mike Dunleavy, guard Mo Williams, cash and a protected future first-round draft pick to the Hawks for Korver, a 14-year veteran whose ability to come off screens and deep range challenges defenses.

”It adds another dynamic piece to our team,” James said. ”Hell of a sharp shooter and just a great guy. Great professional, as you’ve seen over his career. A guy that’s played at a high level for a long time, has championship aspirations. And, he has another rocket launcher.”

The trade was agreed upon Thursday and completed Saturday.

”We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family,” general manager David Griffin said. ”Among the most prolific and dynamic 3-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless, and team first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor.”

The 35-year-old Korver is expected to help Cleveland offset the loss of J.R. Smith, who will be out until April after suffering a complex thumb fracture and undergoing surgery. The 6-foot-7 Korver has made 43 percent of his 3-pointers during his career and also has plenty of postseason experience.

With James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Korver on the floor, defenses will have to decide who to guard. If Korver got open looks at the basket with Atlanta, he’ll have even more opportunities with the Cavs.

”I could only imagine him coming off those pin downs and whether he’s open or not, we’re telling him to shoot it,” Irving said after Friday’s win at Brooklyn. ”Every shooter that comes here, we tell them Bron’s statement: `If a guy’s not in your numbers, then you’re open.’ So I know he’ll pretty much enjoy that. We’re looking forward to getting to know who he is as a person and a teammate, and we’re going to integrate the best way we know how.”

While Korver enjoyed his time with Atlanta and will miss those friendships, he’s joining the team that eliminated him from the playoffs the past two seasons. Cleveland has swept Atlanta in each of the past two postseasons.

Korver has 72 hours to report to the Cavs and will still need to undergo a physical. It’s possible he could join them on Sunday in Phoenix, the first of five games out West for the Cavs, whose trip will conclude with a Jan. 16 matchup at Golden State.

Coach Tyronn Lue said he intends to bring Korver off the bench.

Griffin’s ability to pull off the trade helped the Cavs on a few fronts. It gave them more firepower and he was able to open up a roster spot by dealing Dunleavy, who was a disappointment in his first season for Cleveland, and Williams, who hasn’t played after saying he was retiring. By dumping him on Atlanta, Cleveland is also ridding itself of the rest of Williams’ $2.1 million salary and avoiding luxury tax issues.

The Cavs may not be done dealing, either. Griffin wants to add a veteran backup point guard, a spot Cleveland has needed to address since electing not to re-sign Matthew Dellavedova in free agency last summer. Rookie Kay Felder has improved but Cleveland needs more at the position.

”That’s the next step,” James said Friday in New York. ”You look at our league, most teams have three point guards. We only have two with Ky (Irving) and our rook in Kay. I think just having that security blanket. Every NFL team has three quarterbacks. We’ll see what happens, but, we’re happy with our team right now.”

Korver’s departure might not be the last for the Hawks, who aren’t the same team that won 60 games before losing to the Cavs in the 2015 Eastern Conference finals. Forward Paul Millsap’s name has been linked to trade speculation for weeks.

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Two days after agreeing to the deal, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a trade with Atlanta for Kyle Korver, one of the league’s best 3-point shooters, who will be able to spot up on the perimeter and wait for LeBron James to pass him the ball.

The Cavs sent forward Mike Dunleavy, guard Mo Williams, cash and a protected future first-round draft pick to the Hawks for Korver, a 14-year veteran whose ability to come off screens and deep range challenge defenses.

The trade was agreed upon Thursday and completed Saturday.

”We are extremely pleased to be able to add a player and person the caliber of Kyle Korver to our Cavs family,” general manager David Griffin said. ”Among the most prolific and dynamic 3-point shooters in NBA history, a selfless, and team first competitor, Kyle brings all of the elements of Cavs DNA that we covet on and off the floor.”

The 35-year-old Korver is expected to help Cleveland offset the loss of J.R. Smith, who will be out until April after suffering a complex thumb fracture and undergoing surgery. The 6-foot-7 Korver has made 43 percent of his 3-pointers during his career and also has plenty of postseason experience.

”A guy that’s played at a high level for a long time, has championship aspirations,” James said following Friday’s win at Brooklyn. ”And he has another rocket launcher.”

Coach Tyronn Lue said he intends to bring Korver off the bench.

Griffin was able to open up a roster spot in dealing Dunleavy, who was a disappointment in his first seasons for Cleveland, and Williams, who hasn’t played after saying he was retiring. By dumping him on Atlanta, the Cavs are also ridding themselves of the rest of his $2.1 million salary.

The Cavs, who are headed west for five games, would like to add a veteran backup point guard, a spot they’ve needed to address since electing not to re-sign Matthew Dellavedova in free agency last summer. Rookie Kay Felder has improved but Cleveland needs more at the position.

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Brooklyn Nets
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), YES (Brooklyn)
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 115, Nets 102

NEW YORK — Kyle Korver was scheduled to visit Brooklyn next Tuesday with the Atlanta Hawks.

Plans changed and Korver might suit up Friday for the Cleveland Cavaliers when they open a six-game trip with a visit to the Nets.

The Cavaliers acquired Kyle Korver from Atlanta on Thursday night, but the team has yet to announce it because they have to finish a trade call with the league.

The call will occur Friday, and if it happens in time, Korver could be available by the opening tip.

Korver was traded on the two-year anniversary of Cleveland obtaining Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. Coincidentally, Smith’s thumb surgery that will sideline him until the end of March likely contributed to the deal.

Although the Cavaliers shoot 39 percent from 3-point range and are at 40.9 percent since Smith last played Dec. 20, they shot 25 percent (14 of 56) in their last two games.

Korver was courted by the Cavaliers in free agency after the 2012-13 season and ultimately signed a four-year, $24 million with Atlanta. He helped Atlanta to a 60-win season two years ago and shot 42.5 percent from long range in Cleveland’s four-game sweep in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

“Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland,” Korver said after not playing for Atlanta on Thursday night in New Orleans. “I’m very excited about that part, but there’s definitely a lot of relationships that care a lot about here that I’m going to miss.”

The version of the Cavs that Korver joins is about to embark on a trip that will span 6,500 miles and end with a trip to Golden State on Jan. 16. It also is a team that is less than 100 percent from a health perspective.

Kyrie Irving has missed the last three games with a right hamstring injury and coach Tyronn Lue did not give a timetable for his point guard’s return.

Irving is listed as questionable and the Cavs will go with inexperience at point guard for the time being, at least until another trade occurs.

The inexperience at point guard became news when LeBron James pointed it out after Wednesday’s 106-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls when the Cavs totaled 13 assists, making their total 46 in the last three games.

Besides Irving’s status, Kevin Love is listed as questionable with an illness. Love did not play Wednesday after playing 24 minutes Monday and the Cavs are hopeful that Love can play Friday.

Love lost approximately 10 pounds from food poisoning contracted on the team flight after Saturday’s win in Charlotte. He also missed two games with a left knee contusion last month.

Channing Frye started for Love and scored 15 points Wednesday, but he also has been impacted by the illness, which also impacted James.

“It’s something that’s going around,” Lue said. Channing’s really sick, Kevin’s sick and now LeBron is sick. So hopefully it doesn’t continue to spread.”

James, however, was forceful in asserting he will play through it while expressing frustration at the injuries and illnesses.

“It can (wear on you),” James said “It’s just tough. It’s slowing up our process because of what we’re trying to build.”

James and the Cavs beat the Nets by 20 two weeks ago at home in a game they led by as much 46. The Cavs are 7-2 against the Nets since James returned to the team in 2014, but one of those losses is credited for spurring them to an eventual championship.

The Cavs were handed a nine-point loss in Brooklyn on March 24 when James scored 30 points but went scoreless in the fourth quarter. It led to a team meeting where Lue implored more aggressiveness out of the Cavs.

Brooklyn’s last home win over Cleveland was its penultimate of a 21-win season. The Nets ended last year with 10 straight losses and is on pace for a similar record this season.

Since a 4-5 start after a win at Phoenix, the Nets are 4-21. Brooklyn has allowed more than 100 points in each loss and more than 120 in eight losses, and sustained 14 double-digit losses.

The latest was Thursday’s 121-109 loss at Indiana where the Nets struggled for production from their starting lineup. Trevor Booker scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but the other four starters combined for 32 points on 13 of 36 from the field.

“The starters took us out early and there was a big difference,” Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We came out like mush for some reason.”

Nets center Brook Lopez said, “We have to realize we’re playing for each other. We have to hold ourselves and each other accountable. We don’t want to let our team down so we have to go out there, play with a chip on our shoulder, play with energy, be aggressive and just keep battling.”

The Nets will be playing their second of three games in a span of about 89 hours since Sunday’s game against Philadelphia is a noon tip. Jeremy Lin will miss his fifth straight game with a second strained left hamstring and 23rd overall because of injury.

Brooklyn is 5-17 when Lin does not play and the Nets are also hopeful Rondae Hollis-Jefferson can suit up after sitting Thursday with right hip tendinitis.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to finalize a deal to acquire Korver, one of the league’s elite 3-point shooters, in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night.

The sides are closing in on a deal, but the particulars ”’are not clear,” said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed.

The Vertical first reported the potential swap.

Cleveland is in need of another outside shooting threat with J.R. Smith expected to be sidelined until the end of the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair a broken thumb. The 35-year-old Korver is a more than adequate replacement as he’s shot 43 percent from long range during his career and his 1,952 made 3s are the eighth most in league history.

Korver did not play in Thursday night’s game in New Orleans, and afterward said he had mixed emotions about a trade that may only need league approval before becoming official.

”There are a lot of heart ties to Atlanta for a lot of reasons,” said Korver, who spent five seasons with Atlanta after two in Chicago. ”A lot of friendships, relationships. That’s where I had my best basketball. … That’s where I had all my kids. So it’s hard to leave that behind.

”Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland so I’m very excited about that part. But there are a lot of relationships that I care a lot about here and I’m going to miss.”

Cleveland has been looking to add to its roster after losing Smith and center Chris Andersen to a season-ending knee injury. The Cavs also have interest in acquiring a backup point guard, but bringing in another outside threat for LeBron James appears to be the priority.

Korver, who has been pursued by Cleveland as a free agent in the past, is making $5.2 million in the final year of a four-year, $24 million deal he signed with Atlanta in 2013.

Cavs general manager David Griffin has not been afraid to shake up his team in past Januarys.

Two years ago, he dealt guard Dion Waiters and acquired Smith, guard Iman Shumpert and center Timofey Mozgov in trades. And last year, he fired coach David Blatt despite a 30-11 start.

Korver isn’t the player he once was, but he may be an upgrade over forward Mike Dunleavy, who was signed in the offseason but hasn’t produced and could be on the trading block. Dunleavy dressed but was the only healthy player who didn’t get any time Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago even though the Cavs were missing stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

For the Hawks, moving Korver represents the latest in a series of roster decisions that has broken up the core of a squad that won 60 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference just two seasons ago.

Key players gone from that team include power forward Al Horford, who left for Boston as a free agent; small forward DeMarre Carroll, who signed with Toronto as a free agent; and guard Jeff Teague, who was traded to Indiana.

”Kyle was a big part of that, Al was a big part of that, Jeff was a big part of that, DeMarre was a big part of that, and all of them are gone,” Hawks forward Paul Millsap said. ”I’m still here, but a big part of our team that was here that’s gone right now. You can’t look back in the past.”

Millsap declined to say whether seeing all of those moves makes him wonder about his own future with the club.

”The Hawks are trying to do what’s best for them,” Korver said. ”The whole organization is completely different from when I came 4 1/2 years ago.

”If there wasn’t the emotional connection that I have to Atlanta and the Hawks’ organization it would be a different story. From a basketball perspective, (Cleveland) is a great, great fit for me and I know that.”

The Cavs play the Brooklyn Nets in New York on Friday night, the start of a six-game trip.

—

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.

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Coach Tyronn Lue says both stars would play Friday night in the opener of a six-game road trip.

Love missed a loss to Chicago on Wednesday and was limited in the previous game after suffering from food poisoning on New Year’s Day. Irving has sat out the last three games while battling right hamstring tightness.

The Cavs are trying to complete a trade for Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, but he won’t play even if it’s finalized Friday. Lue says only those at the morning shootaround would play in the game.

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Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WGN (Chicago), FSN Ohio
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 98, Bulls 92

CLEVELAND — Two teams with point guard issues square off Wednesday when the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Chicago Bulls. Both Kyrie Irving and Rajon Rondo have missed the last two games, but for far different reasons.

Irving has been sidelined with tightness in his right hamstring that the team doesn’t believe is serious — they haven’t even done any medical testing on it to this point. Rondo remains benched and out of the Bulls’ rotation.

The Cavaliers lost at Chicago in early December on the night LeBron James had to wear a Cubs’ uniform into United Center to pay off a bet he lost to Dwyane Wade. It was also the night James declared the Cavaliers’ “honeymoon” for winning the NBA championship was over. His team has responded by winning 13 of 15 since that loss.

The Bulls, however, are just 6-11 since that win against Cleveland.

Both teams are fighting injuries. Chicago rookie Denzel Valentine is not making the trip to Cleveland because of a left ankle injury and Wade will be a game-time decision with a sore knee. Then there is the Rondo saga.

Valentine was only getting extended minutes because Rondo has been benched. Yet despite him being out on Wednesday and Wade’s status still questionable, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg still won’t commit to playing Rondo.

“We’ll see how everything plays out,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “We’ll cross that bridge when and if that happens.”

Kevin Love, meanwhile, played 24 minutes despite battling food poisoning during the Cavaliers’ home win against New Orleans on Monday. Coach Tyronn Lue said Love believes he got it from eating a piece of fish on the team’s flight home on New Year’s Eve. Love was not himself on the floor Monday and ultimately left early in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.

James also left the locker room Monday with a baggie full of medicine and admitted he wasn’t feeling well as the flu continues to rip through the NBA.

“Can’t have any excuses no matter what’s going on with the team,” James said. “Has to be next man up and when guys’ numbers are called they’ve got to be ready to go.”

The Cavaliers are down to 10 healthy bodies — and that’s counting Love. Lue was forced to cancel shootaround Monday due in part to a lack of bodies, although Cleveland will hold its typical morning walkthrough Wednesday prior to the game.

With both Irving and J.R. Smith sidelined, the Cavaliers have relied on a batch of fringe NBA players such as Jordan McRae, DeAndre Liggins and Kay Felder. McRae and Liggins have started in the backcourt the last two games with mixed results, while Felder has quietly been steady as the undersized rookie point guard drafted 54th overall last summer.

Felder has averaged 10.5 points in the two games Irving has missed, both of which came after he erupted for 33 points in his only D-League appearance this season. Felder acknowledged that night gave him a confidence boost and reminded him he can play at this level. He has proved it for the last week. Now his coach wants him to keep playing freely.

“Don’t look over at the bench,” Lue told him. “Just play your game. And if you’re doing too much, I’ll let you know. So don’t keep looking at the bench and looking over your shoulder. Just play.”

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