Cavaliers-76ers Preview

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers look to keep alive their hopes for the second seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cleveland (48-32) is battling idle Chicago (49-32) for second place in the East. The Cavaliers must win their two remaining games and hope the Bulls lose their finale at New Jersey on Wednesday to earn the No. 2 seed.

If those three results do not happen, Cleveland will be seeded fifth and play defending champion Miami in the first round -- although the Cavs will have home-court advantage.

The Cavs are seeking to capture the season series from Philadelphia (34-46) for the first time in three seasons. They have won two of three meetings, including their last visit to the Wachovia Center on Jan. 26 -- a 105-97 victory without James.

Drew Gooden led Cleveland with 21 points and 10 rebounds in that win, as the bench outscored Philadelphia's 52-30.

James missed that contest with a sore right toe and the high-scoring small forward should be ready for this matchup after getting his nose bloodied during Saturday's 110-76 rout of Atlanta when the Hawks' Josh Smith accidentally hit him.

"He definitely caught me pretty good," said James, who had 23 points. "But I'm a football player, I'm all right."

James has totaled 64 points, 16 assists and 14 rebounds in two contests with the 76ers this season and has an average of 30.2 points in 12 career games against them.

The Cavs' victory over Atlanta was their most lopsided one of the season. Cleveland shot a season-high 57.1 percent and had seven players reach double digits in points.

"I like that our sense of urgency has picked up," Cavaliers guard Eric Snow said. "That's what you need to do going into the playoffs."

Cleveland can also win 50 games for the fifth time in franchise history and first time in back-to-back seasons since 1991-93 with two more wins. It hosts Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Philadelphia is looking to knock off a playoff team for the second straight game after a 102-91 win at Detroit on Sunday. Willie Green scored 26 points for the Sixers, who took advantage since the top-seeded Pistons rested their starters extensively.

"I'm very proud of our guys to go out and play a game that doesn't have a whole lot of meaning," 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks said after the team won for the fourth time in five games. "Our young guys went out there and played it the right way."

The club doesn't have much to play for after it was eliminated from playoff contention with a 104-87 loss to Orlando on Saturday. The Sixers wrap up their second straight season out of the playoffs Wednesday night at Toronto.