Cleveland vs. Houston

Cavaliers -2 1/2 vs. Rockets

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Winners of five games a piece, something has got to give in Houston when the Rockets face the Eastern percentage best Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday at the Toyota Center.

Cleveland (44-11) has powered their way to the best record in the Eastern Conference by percentage (.800 to Boston’s .780, although the Celtics have 2 more wins) with an incredible 26-1 home record. They have also been solid on the road, going 18-10, winning seven of nine there. But perhaps there is no team more on fire all around than Houston (36-21).

In their most recent game, Houston won their fifth game in a row, their best streak of the season, when they defeated the contender Portland 98-94. It silenced the critics of the Rockets who said the team was merely beating up on weak teams because three of their previous four victories were against sub-.500 teams.

Houston has been doing well even without Tracy McGrady who is seemingly out for the season due to a knee injury. Ron Artest has replaced McGrady in the starting lineup and has averaged a solid 20.2 points. Surprisingly, the Rockets seem to play better without McGrady, winning eight straight when he is out of the lineup and they are 16-6 overall this season without him.

Houston will conclude a six-game home stand with Thursday’s game. They are 23-6 at home.

Friday night LeBron James scorched Milwaukee for 55 points, but has been fairly pedestrian since, scoring a combined 35 points in the last two games, both victories at home against Detroit and Memphis.

The Cavaliers will face a tough test Thursday and as they embark on many road games over the next few weeks. They will play eight of ten away from home against San Antonio, Atlanta and Miami. All those teams, including Houston have winning records. They will also face off in a key matchup with Boston on March 6th.

Furthermore, Cleveland has never fared well in Houston, losing 17 of their last 20 visits to the city. They have not fared well in Cleveland either, but were able to defeat the Rockets in their last visit there, 99-90 on December 23rd.

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