A moribund Cleveland Cavaliers team will kick off a tough five-game road trip tonight in Oakland when it takes on the Golden State Warriors.
No fewer than five Cavaliers are dealing with injuries - Daniel Gibson and Leon Powe didn't even make the trip while Anderson Varejao(ankle), Joey Graham(quad) and Anthony Parker(back) will receive treatment on the road.
Cleveland dropped its eighth straight game on Wednesday when Jose Calderon poured in 20 points and dished out a season-high 17 assists, as the Toronto Raptors took down the struggling Cavaliers, 120-105, at Quicken Loans Arena.
Antawn Jamison made a season-high five three-pointers en route to 32 points for the Cavaliers, who have also lost five in a row on their home floor. Christian Eyenga and Ramon Sessions each donated 16 points.
To make matters worse, Cleveland also lost guard Daniel Gibson to a left ankle sprain. Gibson had 13 points before exiting and has already been ruled out for the entire road trip.
"Every time I think we're taking a step forward, we take two steps back, especially on the defensive end," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said. "We just have to figure out a way, every single night, to have that type of effort that I know we're capable of."
Cleveland, which is 3-15 on the road, will also visit Phoenix, the LA Lakers, Utah and Denver on its trek.
The Warriors, meanwhile, finished up a five-game road trip of their own on a winning note Wednesday when Monta Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to fuel a dominant fourth quarter comeback as Golden State downed New Orleans, 110-103.
Stephen Curry contributed 21 points while David Lee and Dorell Wright added 13 apiece for the Warriors, who finished the trip with two wins.
"We didn't play a great game, but everybody filled in for everyone else," Ellis said. "We did the jobs and finished it out. It was a good team win."
The Warriors, who are opening up a stretch of 14 of 16 games at Oracle Arena tonight, are 8-6 at home this season.
Cleveland has swept the home-and-home series between the two clubs over the past two seasons but that was with LeBron James still toiling for the club.