A look ahead: Clippers have four games left on eight-game trip

The Clippers are halfway through their eight-game road trip with a record of 2-2. So far they have beaten Utah and San Antonio, and lost to New Orleans and Brooklyn.

The Clippers play at Cleveland on Thursday. The Cavaliers are in fifth place in the East with a record of 30-20. When these teams played in Los Angeles on Jan. 16, the Cavaliers won, 126-121. In that game, the Cavaliers outshot the Clippers from the field, 55% to 47%, and from beyond the three-point line, 44% to 35%. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving combined for 69 points, Irving finishing with 37 and James scoring 32. The Cavaliers are the hottest team in the NBA right now, having won 11 consecutive games.

The Clippers play at Toronto on Friday. The Raptors are in second place in the East with an identical record to the Clippers (33-16). When the teams played in Los Angeles on Dec. 27, the Raptors snapped the Clippers eight-game winning streak at home with a 110-98 win. In that game, the Clippers committed 15 turnovers and allowed the Raptors to go on a 13-2 run at the top of the fourth quarter. The Raptors have won six of their last seven games. 

The Clippers play at Oklahoma City on Sunday. The Thunder are in 10th place in the West with a record of 24-24. When the teams played in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, the Clippers won, 93-90. The Thunder were playing without superstar forward Kevin Durant (foot), among others, and also lost All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook in the second quarter after he injured his right hand. Durant is listed as day-to-day now with a sprained left big toe. The Thunder have lost two of their last three games.

The Clippers play at Dallas on Monday. The Mavericks (33-17) are in sixth place in the West, just half a game behind the fifth-place Clippers. The last time these teams played in Los Angeles, the Clippers won, 120-100. The Clippers led by as many as 26 points in that game, outshooting the Mavericks, 52.3% to 44.2%, and outrebounding them, 47-40. The Mavericks have won three games in a row.