Cleveland plays Houston in cross-conference game

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Monday, December 18, 2023

Houston Rockets (13-10, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-12, eighth in the Eastern Conference)

Cleveland; Monday, 7 p.m. EST

: Cavaliers -5; over/under is 214

BOTTOM LINE: Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers host Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets in out-of-conference action.

The Cavaliers have gone 7-6 in home games. Cleveland is seventh in the Eastern Conference in rebounding with 44.3 rebounds. Evan Mobley leads the Cavaliers with 10.5 boards.

The Rockets are 2-9 in road games. Houston is 6-7 against opponents over .500.

The Cavaliers make 47.4% of their shots from the field this season, which is 3.6 percentage points higher than the Rockets have allowed to their opponents (43.8%). The Rockets average 12.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, the same that the Cavaliers allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jarrett Allen is scoring 13.0 points per game and averaging 8.4 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Mitchell is averaging 25.9 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last 10 games for Cleveland.

Sengun is scoring 19.7 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Rockets. Fred VanVleet is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Houston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 111.1 points, 44.9 rebounds, 25.1 assists, 8.2 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.0 points per game.

Rockets: 6-4, averaging 109.7 points, 47.8 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 5.9 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.5 points.

INJURIES: Cavaliers: Evan Mobley: out (knee), Ty Jerome: out (ankle), Darius Garland: out (jaw), Ricky Rubio: out (personal).

Rockets: Victor Oladipo: out (knee), Amen Thompson: out (illness).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.