NBA: Houston Rockets at Miami Heat
LeBron James only had 24 points but it was enough to help the Heat avoid their sixth loss in seven games Reuters

The Miami Heat are on their way back to recovery after their worst stretch this regular season. The entire Cleveland Cavaliers squad will need to step up if they still want a postseason slot after learning their franchise player will be missing the next two weeks, and even, the entire season if the injury does not heal in time.

The Heat take on the Cavaliers on Tuesday night when LeBron James returns to his original stomping ground, Cleveland, Ohio.

Both the Heat and Cavaliers have struggled of late and more so against the spread; both are 2-7 ATS in their last 7 games overall.

Miami avoided losing six of their last seven games delivering a 113-104 home win over the Houston Rockets last Sunday.

James (24 points), Dwyane Wade (24 points) and Chris Bosh (18 points) had their usual numbers but it was veteran shooter Ray Allen who did the damage scoring 14 of his 25 points in the payoff period.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 102-80 and worse, they also lost Kyrie Irving to a biceps injury, which will cause the star point guard to lose majority of the games in the stretch run of the regular season.

The Cavs (26-41) are 5 games back off Atlanta (30-35) for the eighth and final playoff spot and one game behind New York (27-40), which is on a six-game winning streak.

Without Irving, the Cavs turned to Luol Deng who finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 field goal shooting. Spencer Hawes added 14 points and Jarret Jack had 12 points. Dion Waiters came off the bench to score 15 markers.

Watch the Heat-Cavaliers match-up via NBA League Pass.

Betting Lines: Miami Heat (-9.5) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (O/U: 196.0)
 Game time: 10:00 am AEDT

Betting Against the Spread (ATS)

Miami Heat Trends
 - The Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games
- The Heat are 5-2-2 ATS in their last 9 games after a win
- The Heat are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Central division teams

Cleveland Cavaliers Trends
 - The Cavaliers 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games
- The Cavaliers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games vs. Southeast division teams
- The Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. East teams