Cavs’ Smith sidelined with hyperextended left knee

Cleveland has lost three straight games, has gone 6-4 in its last 10 games, and is 4-3 on the road this season.

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James notched his first of three triple-doubles this season in the Cavs’ season opening win over NY – finishing with 19 points, 14 assists and 11 boards.

“Their two-guard set is one that just separates them in the league”.

A pullup jumper by Carroll, who returned after sitting out Friday’s game to rest, put the Raptors up by 21 points with two minutes left in the half, and they went into the break with a 64-47 lead.

But that was what Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll had to attempt each of the past two years in the playoffs, first with the Atlanta Hawks, and then with the Raptors, both times in the Eastern Conference final.

Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. each scored 15 points for the Hawks, Dwight Howard had 10 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Kris Humphries added 10 points.

The Hawks (10-11) are going in reverse.

“Coaches want me to be aggressive now, not just be a defensive guy”, he said. With the Raptors and the Celtics close behind the Cavs, King James has a lot of motivating to do for his team to gain back the action that they showed earlier this season.

If there’s a more telling visual metaphor for a Raptors/Cavaliers game in 2016-17 than DeMar DeRozan’s scrambling corner three that was disallowed, we’ve yet to see it. And to think that it is a SEGABABA (second game of a back to back) for the Hawks, it makes it all the more tiring and depressing with no time to practice or make an in depth study of what is hobbling the team. Conversely, it was the largest margin of victory in Raptors history.

“We understand we are playing against a great team in Toronto”, Irving said.

Jabari Parker had 23 points, picking up the slack for much of the fourth quarter for the Bucks with Antetokounmpo on the bench with five fouls.

On the night, Toronto hit 58 percent from the field, including 13 for 24, or 54 percent, from 3. Even some of the younger guys, they’ve been coming into the game have come in and played some good ball. The ball’s finding energy moving.

DeRozan and Lowry to score 55+ points. It is just a matter of time for them to get back to their winnings ways, but a victory against the Raptors will do wonders to their confidence. “I think we need, as a team, to commit ourselves to the process”.

Hawks: Forward Paul Millsap missed his third straight game due to a left hip injury.

Channing Frye led the bench with 10 points, while Richard Jefferson and Liggins added five points apiece.

The Hawks’ season story is virtually the opposite of Toronto’s. All factors simply point to a Raptors win. This is arguably Smith’s worst season of his 13-year career, and one could point to the knee problem as a potential culprit. The first game happened during the second game of the season, with the Cavs running away with a 94-91 win.