Sixers-Cavaliers: What you need to know

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Sixers vs. Cavaliers, 7 p.m.TCN
LineSixers plus-9 over Cavaliers
Last MeetingGames against the Cavaliers have come at a perfect time for the Sixers this season. Twice this year the Sixers have faced the Cavs after a loss and twice they left with a W. The last one came on March 27 two days after the Sixers were trounced by San Antonio. In that game Jodie Meeks scored a team season-high 31 points on 11 for 16 shooting with seven three-pointers in the 103-85 victory.
RecordsSixers: 31-30 (Third in the Atlantic Division; eighth place in the Eastern Conference).
Cavaliers: 20-40 (Fifth in the Southeast Division; 13th place in the Eastern Conference).
Previous gamesThe Sixers losing streak was pushed to three games with the 102-97 defeat to the Indiana Pacers at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night. The loss to the Pacers came a night removed from a 113-100 defeat in Orlando, giving the Sixers two straight losses in which they combined to score 197 points, shoot 74 for 156 from the floor, 14 for 32 from beyond the three-point arc with 47 free-throw attempts and 21 turnovers.
The Sixers have won plenty of games with worse numbers than those. Instead, the problem in the last two games has been the defense that has allowed Orlando and Indiana to shoot 24 for 42 from three-point range.
In the meantime, the Sixers could be walking into a hornets nest on Wednesday night considering the last two losses the Cavs have suffered. While the Sixers were taking another loss at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night, the Cavs fell behind by as many as 50 points during the second half during a 116-77 loss in Detroit.
Of course the Cavs have played without top draft pick Kyrie Irving for the past nine games, a stretch in which the team went 3-6.
Whos hot?Thad Young has been the Sixers most energetic player during the last few games, shooting 60 percent from the floor (36 for 60) while averaging 16.6 points per game over his last five. Against the Pacers, Young scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six rebounds and his first three-pointer since April 13, 2011.
Meanwhile, Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 23 points on Tuesday night on 8 for-12 shooting with three three-pointers. Iguodala also went 4 for 7 from the foul line with all three of his misses coming during the final quarter. In one of the more unfathomable stats, Iguodala is a better three-point shooter in the fourth quarter (14 for 29, 47 percent) than a free throw shooter (23 for 51, 45 percent).
Hot is a relative term for the Cavs. The one aspect where the team has been consistent this season is with its inconsistency. Irving, the frontrunner for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, leads the team with 18.8 points and 5.7 assists per game. In his absence, though, the Cavs have struggled to find anyone to match those numbers. Second-year guard Manny Harris scored a season-high 18 points in the 39-point loss to Detroit on Tuesday.
StorylinesThe Sixers have pushed themselves into a corner and with a 1 games lead over the Bucks with five games to go, they no longer control their own destiny. If the Bucks win out and the Sixers go 4-1 over the final week of the season, Milwaukee is in and the Sixers are out of the playoff picture by virtue of the tiebreaker.
Indeed, it looks as if the Sixers season is heading toward a final showdown against the Bucks in the penultimate game of the year next Wednesday.
I think Milwaukee is banking on us coming in there and that game being a playoff, coach Doug Collins said.
InjuriesSemih Erden (sprained right ankle) is out indefinitely.
Alonzo Gee (sprained left ankle) missed Tuesdays game against Detroit.
Daniel Gibson (left foot surgery) is out for the remainder of the season.
Kyrie Irving (strained right shoulder) is expected to return for the game against the Sixers.
Anderson Varejao (broken right wrist) is out indefinitely.
E-mail John Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com

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