The Cavaliers will meet the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow night in an NBA game FREE Live streaming online from the Phillips Arena at 7:30 PM ET
Two months ago, the Cavs were within striking distance of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, though any loss could dash their slim hopes.
Cleveland aims for a sixth win in seven games Friday night when it visits the Hawks, who are sliding out of the postseason picture.
The Cavaliers (31-45) were 5 1/2 games out of eighth place with a 16-33 record on Feb. 5 and looked likely to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season. But their 15-12 record since is tied for the sixth-best in the subpar East, and they've moved two games out of eighth.
Atlanta (32-42) -- which was in third place as recently as Feb. 4 -- has gone 7-21 since, falling percentage points behind New York (33-43) for eighth place following Wednesday's 105-92 home loss to Chicago.
Kyrie Irving finished one shy of his career high with 40 points but Jeff Teague hit a jumper at the buzzer to give Atlanta a 127-125 double-overtime victory in Cleveland on Dec. 26. Teague finished with 34 points on 14-of-24 shooting and 14 assists, while Irving's performance marked the fourth time in five matchups he's scored at least 28. The one time he didn't, however, was in the season's only other meeting, a 108-89 loss when he missed all nine field goal attempts and failed to score for the only time in his career.
The Hawks are looking to win their seventh straight over Cleveland, but they're averaging just 93.3 points while dropping seven of eight after a season-best five-game winning streak. They were up 42-38 early in the second quarter Wednesday before giving way to a 16-3 Chicago run en route to their fourth home loss in five tries.
Atlanta is seeking its seventh straight postseason appearance, which would be the longest streak in the East with Boston set to miss the playoffs.
The Hawks shot a combined 50.5 percent over the first two meetings with Cleveland.
The game will live stream online at www.nbalivestreamfree.net
