(SportsNetwork.com) - The new-look Cleveland Cavaliers embark on a five-game western road trip and things don't start easily as they visit Oracle Arena to take on the NBA's best team, the Golden State Warriors.
On Monday, the Cavs acquired Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks. They also received a protected first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the deal.
Then, on Wednesday, Cleveland traded for center Timofey Mozgov, shipping two first-round picks, including the one from Oklahoma City, to the Denver Nuggets.
With LeBron James still out of the lineup, this shakeup could help. Shumpert is out with a shoulder injury, but Smith debuted in Wednesday's home loss to the Houston Rockets with zero points in almost 18 minutes.
Mozgov could be available on Friday. When center Anderson Varejao went down for the season with an Achilles tear, the Cavs needed immediate help at the big-man spot.
The Cavs have been bad of late, losing three straight and six of seven. With James out of the lineup, Cleveland is 1-5.
On Wednesday, the Cavs fell at home to the Rockets, 105-93. Houston out-scored Cleveland, 32-19, in the fourth quarter.
Kyrie Irving returned to score a season-high 38 points to lead the Cavs, including 34 in the first three quarters. He didn't make a field goal in the fourth quarter until there was around a minute left, drawing Cleveland within seven points. He missed his last two shots, both from 3-point range.
Kevin Love added 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs and Tristan Thompson scored 11.
"It's not so much that we're running out of gas, (it's that we don't have) the production from the bench that we had," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "Some of those guys are playing the bulk of the minutes now and it's not the same."
The Warriors have been great recently, as they have been all season long. They've won five straight, all at home, as they close a homestand against the Cavs.
Golden State extended its winning streak with a 117-102 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. They are a perfect 11-0 against the lesser Eastern Conference this season and have won 13 in a row at home.
Klay Thompson scored 15 of his 40 points in a big third quarter and the Warriors pulled away after halftime. Thompson erupted for 10 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half to help the Warriors take a sudden 11- point lead with a 12-1 run.
He knocked down two 3-pointers during the flurry, which ended an overall run of 31-9 after Golden State trailed by 11 in the second quarter.
"It felt great to have a night like that," said Thompson. "I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates who gave me a lot of really good open looks."
Stephen Curry had 21 points and 15 assists and Marreese Speights scored 18 for the Warriors. David Lee added 13 off the bench as Golden State shot 42.9 percent from long range.
Andrew Bogut returned from a 12-game absence with a knee injury. He came off the bench with four points in 14:41 minutes of action.
The Cavs bested the Warriors in Oakland last season to snap a six-game series losing streak. Cleveland is 5-2 in its previous seven at Oracle Arena.
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