Cavaliers Vs Celtics: Cleveland Aims To End Boston's Win Streak

The Boston Celtics (9-9) enter tonight's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers (7-11) at TD Garden on Sunday without a number of key players, but they also enter it with a nice winning streak.

The Celtics, who will play again without Ray Allen (ankle), Rajon Rondo (wrist) and Jermaine O'Neal (knee), have pushed their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with five wins in a row, thanks in large part to the impressive play of Paul Pierce.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will aim to bounce back from a 99-96 loss to the New Jersey Nets on Friday night in which rookie point guard Kyrie Irving dueled gamely with Deron Williams to score a career-high 32 points.

This game is the first of a home-and-home set that will resume in Cleveland on Tuesday night. The Celtics currently are seventh in the East while the Cavaliers are ninth in the East. With a win tonight, Cleveland would pull to within one game of Boston and if they sweep the home-and-home, they would be tied with Boston.

Tip off tonight is set for 6:00 p.m. eastern.

For all your needs on the Cleveland Cavaliers, head over to SB Nation's Cleveland Cavs blog Fear the Sword. If you're looking for the Boston Celtics' take, Celtics Blog is the blog to read. You can also check out SB Nation's NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.