Washington @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 8, 2019 ) Cleveland 113, Washington 100

The Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to halt a five-game slide when they host the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Monday's 106-86 loss to the visiting New York Knicks marked Cleveland's third loss by 20 or more during the stretch and the woes include the Cavaliers dropping 10 of their past 12 games.

The loss to New York came in the first game of a stretch in which the Cavaliers play nine of 11 games at home leading up to the All-Star break. However, Cleveland is just 6-15 at home, including five straight setbacks since defeating the Atlanta Hawks 121-118 on Dec. 23. Washington also has been struggling and it fell for the fourth time in the past five games with Wednesday's 134-129 overtime loss to the Miami Heat. The Wizards recovered from a 21-point, second-quarter deficit to force overtime before falling to 5-18 in away games by losing the opener of a four-game trip.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS Washington, FS Ohio, NBA TV Canada

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (14-29): Shooting guard Bradley Beal had another big game with 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting and also contributed nine rebounds and five assists against Miami. The two-time All-Star has scored 30 or points on 15 occasions this season but Washington is just 6-9 in those contests despite his stellar performances. Backup forward Davis Bertans scored 24 points for his 11th 20-point effort of the season, drained four 3-pointers against Miami and has made multiple treys in 22 of the past 24 contests.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (12-32): Center Tristan Thompson collected a career-best 22 boards against the Knicks and the player who recently moved into third place on the team's all-time rebounding list is appreciative of his tenure with the club. "Coming into the league, you always want to be able to leave your imprint wherever you play," the 28-year-old Thompson told reporters. "So, for me, being able to be part of Cavaliers history and probably go down as one of the greatest Cavaliers to ever play. Yeah, it's huge." Thompson's 5,263 rebounds in nine seasons trails only Zydrunas Ilgauskas (5,904) and LeBron James (6,190) on the franchise list.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Cavaliers have won nine of the past 13 meetings, including a 113-100 road victory on Nov. 8.

2. Washington F Rui Hachimura (groin), who has missed the past five-plus weeks, went through a full workout on Wednesday and coach Scott Brooks said the rookie should return prior to the All-Star break.

3. Cleveland C Ante Zizic (vertigo) has missed the past five games and the club said Wednesday that he will be sidelined indefinitely.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 126, Wizards 119