One bad stretch or a symptom of something bigger? The Cavs big man wants to make sure this defensive blip is the former.

Donovan Mitchell had 34 points, Evan Mobley had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Cavaliers led wire-to-wire in a win over the Miami Heat Wednesday.

After a brutal three-game road trip, the Sixers will return home on Friday night as losers of seven contests in a row. Things will not get any easier, as they will face the Eastern Conference-best Cleveland Cavaliers, who trashed the Sixers in Cleveland last month.

Cleveland faces Houston in non-conference action. Saturday's matchup is the first of the season between the teams.

Coach Kenny Atkinson did not have to berate his players during the interlude between the 136-131 loss to the Rockets on Jan. 25 and the game with the Pistons on Jan. 27 because his players berated themselves.

CLEVELAND — Darius Garland scored 22 points ... Jarrett Allen had 15 points and Evan Mobley 14 rebounds for Cleveland. Cade Cunningham scored 22 points and Malik Beasley 19 for Detroit.

With Joel Embiid and several others remaining out as the Sixers’ losing streak sits at seven, they have another tall order ahead of them as they take on the 36-7 Cavaliers.

Acquiring Allen would be a colossal win for the Suns’ future — he’s under contract through the 2028-29 season, meaning he’d completely solve Phoenix’s issues at center for the foreseeable future. The Suns just acquired Nick Richards (a nice move), but Richards becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season.

The Cleveland Cavs learned they have an All-Star starter. Will their wish for the other members of the core four to join Donovan Mitchell be granted?

The Cavs have dropped two consecutive games for only the second time this season as they look to rebound Saturday night against the Houston Rockets.

The Atlanta Hawks are in a spiral right now, while the Cleveland Cavaliers have been great all season. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Hawks-Cavaliers prediction and pick. The Hawks have talent but can not find any sort of consistency as a team.

Atlanta looks to stop its six-game skid with a victory against Cleveland. The teams match up Thursday for the first time this season.