After a slow start to the NBA season, Cleveland Cavaliers have been on the upsurge with 11 wins on a trot. They would be looking for their 12th straight win when they play Los Angeles Clippers later tonight.
On the other hand, Clippers are also in a decent run, where they have won seven out of their last 10 games and lie on the fifth position in the Western Conference standings table.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are a huge plus for the Cavs, who with their performances have taken the team to the fourth position in the Eastern Conference.
Another key player, Kevin Love has been below par, where he has not been able to come up with the expected points for the Cavs in recent games.
He only averages 16.9 points per game, which is below his standard.
James feels it is a matter of confidence. ''I think for Kev, his confidence maybe shooting the ball is a little down,'' James said, as was quoted by AP.
''I want him to shoot the ball and he needs to shoot it with confidence.''
But, Love considers his shooting form is okay if the team continues to win, which they have been regularly doing recently.
''If we're continuing to win and I'm not necessarily being asked to score the ball or shoot the volume of shots, that's fine by me,'' Love said.
''I'm going to keep doing right by this team and sacrificing for the better of this team."
When Cavs met Clippers last on 16 January, Cavs defeated them 126-121 with James and Irving coming up with a 32 and 37 points game respectively.
Clippers would be travelling to Cavs after they lost a close game against the Nets, with the score reading 100 to 102.
After the game, one of their key players, Crawford felt strange after losing a game, which they could have won.
"It's a surreal feeling," said Clippers shooting guard Jamal Crawford. "It's like there's no way we can lose the game and then things change fast," he told LA Times.
Meanwhile, Cavs would be going into the match full of confidence with a victory against the 76ers in their last game with the score reading 97 to 84.
Yet again, it was the duo of James and Irving with 18 and 24 points, which helped them, drive past the 76ers.
A similar performance would be expected tonight from the pair.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for 8pm ET (6:30am IST, 1am GMT) start with Live TV coverage on TNT in the US.
Viewers in India can watch it live on Sony Six.
The game can be watched via live streaming online by audience across the world on NBA.com.
