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James Harden, Houston Rockets visit Cleveland Cavaliers

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) fights for loose ball with Denver Nuggets guard Andre Iguodala during the first quarter at the Pepsi Center on January 30, 2013 in Denver. UPI/Gary C. Caskey
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) fights for loose ball with Denver Nuggets guard Andre Iguodala during the first quarter at the Pepsi Center on January 30, 2013 in Denver. UPI/Gary C. Caskey | License Photo

The new-look Cleveland Cavaliers will try to snap a two- game losing streak Wednesday night when they welcome the Houston Rockets to Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cavs acquired Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks as part of a three-team deal Monday. Cleveland sent Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of the move.

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Shumpert is injured, but Smith should be in uniform Wednesday. LeBron James is still out with a knee and back injury and Kyrie Irving's status is unknown following back stiffness.

Cleveland's losing streak reached two on the same night it made this trade. On Monday, the Cavs fell to the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-92, in Philly's first home win of the season.

Tony Wroten made the go-ahead layup with 9.9 seconds on the clock. Kevin Love was unable to tip-in Matthew Dellavedova's missed layup and Philadelphia's Robert Covington made two free throws with 0.3 seconds to go.

Love had 28 points and 19 boards for the Cavaliers, who have lost five of six. Tristan Thompson and Joe Harris contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively, with Thompson also pulling down nine rebounds.

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"It was tough, but we still felt like we should have won the game," said Love. "We had it under control, we just didn't bury them. We felt like as a team we should have beat them."

The Cavs, who have dropped three straight at home, head west, starting with a major test Friday night against the NBA's best, the Golden State Warriors. They will also visit the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers and the Clippers.

The Rockets have struggled a bit of late. They've lost two of three and six of their last nine.

Last time out, Houston fell in Chicago, 114-105, to the Bulls on Monday night.

The Rockets took a six-point lead into the final quarter, but got demolished in the fourth, 31-16. Trailing 100-95 with 6:05 to play, the Bulls ended the game on a 19-5 run.

Josh Smith ended with 21 points and three steals for the Rockets. James Harden and Donatas Motiejunas donated 20 and 16 points, respectively.

"We usually get to the line more than we did," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "They made some plays down the stretch and we didn't."

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The Rockets went 3-for-5 from the foul line, compared to the Bulls, who shot 27-for-30 from the charity stripe. Harden is second in the league in free- throw attempts at 8.9 per game, but shot only three on Monday.

Houston will polish off this short road trip Thursday night in New York against the Knicks.

The Rockets have taken four straight versus the Cavaliers, including two in a row in Cleveland.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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