CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The NBA announced the schedules for the second half of the season Wednesday afternoon.
The Cavs will tip it off March 12 with a three-game trip starting at New Orleans. They will conclude the regular season May 16 at Brooklyn against the Nets.
Cleveland is scheduled to play 17 of their remaining 36 games at home starting on St. Patrick’s Day against – the Boston Celtics. The Cavs will host the Miami Heat on May 1 and a Mother’s Day game versus the Dallas Mavericks on May 9.
They will host seven weekend dates at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – three Friday games (March 19 vs. San Antonio, April 9 vs. Toronto and April 30 vs. Washington), one Saturday game (May 1 vs. Miami) and three Sunday games (March 21 vs. Toronto, April 11 vs. New Orleans and May 9 vs. Dallas).
Other odds and ends from the schedule include:
Nine sets of back-to-back games, including three road-home sets (March 16-17, April 8-9 and April 14-15), four home-home sets (March 21-22, April 30-May 1, May 4-5 and May 9-10) and two road-road sets (March 26-27 and April 25-26).
Five consecutive home games over eight days from April 28-May 5, four straight home contests from March 17-22, three straight home games from May 9-12 and a two-game homestand from April 9-11.
Cleveland’s longest road trip spans four games over six days from March 24-29 at Chicago, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento and Utah. The team also has three three-game road trips from March 12-16, April 3-8 and April 23-26.
The Cavaliers will play 11 Second Half games in March (four home), 16 games in April (seven home) and nine games in May (six home).
Of the 36 games in the Second Half schedule, Cleveland will play 22 Eastern Conference opponents and 14 Western Conference opponents.
Magic moment – Although Collin Sexton wasn't disappointed he was left off the All-Star team, he received some love from Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson Wednesday on Twitter.
One night stand – Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff hopes Tuesday night’s 112-111 win over the Hawks that ended their 10-game losing streak will carry over against the Houston Rockets Wednesday night.
“Hopefully the success of the moment gives us a great understanding of what is needed, in that it’s not just a one-night thing because we had lost [10] games in a row,” Bickerstaff said before the game. “The hope is you see what it takes to win. You see the level of scrap with which you have to play with, the amount of grit you have to play with to give yourself a chance in this league to win.”
Pregame workout – Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. worked out together prior to Wednesday night’s game.
Love is still recovering from a calf strain that has kept him benched since Dec. 27 and for all but two games this season.
Nance is no longer wearing a cast in his left hand. It’s been replaced with a brace after he underwent surgery earlier this month to have several screws and a plate inserted to repair a broken bone.
Two-way deal – The Cavs signed guard Brodric Thomas to a two-way contract and waived Marques Bolden.
Thomas is listed at 6-foot-5 with a wingspan of 6-foot-11 was recently let go by the Rockets from a two-way contract.