SoCal NBA Preview

LA Clippers (14-29) at Cleveland (25-20) 7:30 pm

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - After a fantastic January, the Cleveland Cavaliers look to continue their winning ways in February when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

The Cavaliers were an Eastern Conference-best 11-3 in January after having the fifth worst record in the conference early in December. Cleveland's performance was its best since posting a 10-2 record in February, 1996. LeBron James, who was named Eastern Conference player of the month, was key to the Cavaliers success, averaging 32.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 13 January games. James was forced to miss Cleveland's last game on Thursday - a 101-95 loss to the dismal Seattle SuperSonics - after injuring his right ankle just before halftime against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. With Thursday's loss, the Cavs are 0-6 this season without James.

If James returns on Saturday, the Clippers will have a difficult time picking up a win on the road, where they have dropped eight straight games. Los Angeles opened a season-high seven game road trip on Friday with a 104-83 setback to the Minnesota Timberwolves, its 16th loss in the last 21 games.