Few would have thought before the season started that, come the first day of December, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be staring up at the Milwaukee Bucks in the Central Division standings. But that’s the scenario heading into their meeting Tuesday night in Cleveland, as Milwaukee begins the month a half-game better than the well-stocked Cavaliers. The Bucks finished with the worst record in the NBA a year ago at 15-67.

Coming off one of their most dominant victories in recent memory, the Atlanta Hawks aim for their third straight victory when they host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Atlanta, which is 7-2 at home, has won four of five and is coming off a 105-75 drubbing of Charlotte on Saturday. The Celtics have dropped four straight and seven of eight after a 111-89 home loss to San Antonio on Sunday in which they were outscored 66-40 in the second half.

The Los Angeles Lakers finished off an otherwise difficult homestand on a positive note, something Detroit will try to do when it welcomes the Lakers to town Tuesday. Los Angeles had dropped the first three games of its four-game homestand before riding Kobe Bryant's 20th career triple-double to a 129-122 overtime win against Toronto on Sunday. Bryant turned back the clock to produce 31 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who now play nine of their next 13 on the road.

The New York Knicks look to halt a four-game skid when they renew hostilities with the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The Knicks welcomed back Carmelo Anthony to the lineup on Sunday after a two-game absence due to back spasms, but it wasn't enough as they fell 86-79 to the Miami Heat. New York will be glad to see the month of November disappear in the rearview mirror after going 3-13, which included an ugly seven-game losing streak.

The Chicago Bulls get a brief respite from the road, but it comes against a Western Conference contender when the Dallas Mavericks visit Tuesday. The Bulls wrapped up a 4-3 road trip with a 102-84 victory at Brooklyn on Sunday, but all three losses on the swing came against Western Conference foes. The Mavericks have won three straight — all against teams from the East — and nine of their last 11.

Oklahoma City already received a big boost in the return of Russell Westbrook, and now Kevin Durant's comeback from a foot injury is on the horizon. Durant has not been ruled out for the Thunder's visit to New Orleans on Tuesday in a game that pits two teams beginning to head in opposite directions. Westbrook sparkled in his first game of the season Friday in a 103-78 triumph in New York, scoring 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting to help Oklahoma City record its first winning streak of the season.

The Denver Nuggets worked hard to get back to a winning record and will have to pass another tough test if they want to stay there. The Nuggets will aim for their eighth win in nine games when they host the Portland Trail Blazers for the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday. Denver wasted a lot of energy getting its record to 9-8 in Utah on Monday, when it squandered a 22-point lead and had to scramble down the stretch to pull out a 103-101 win.

The Phoenix Suns routed Indiana on the road on Nov. 22 and will now attempt to defeat the Pacers at home when the clubs meet on Tuesday. Gerald Green had 23 points as Phoenix posted an easy 106-83 victory to defeat Indiana for the third straight time. “It didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” Pacers center Ian Mahinmi told reporters. “But this game’s going to be different and we’re definitely going over there to get a win.”

The Sacramento Kings hope to have star center DeMarcus Cousins back to help halt a three-game losing streak when they host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Cousins has missed consecutive games with a virus and has been superb when he plays with eight straight double-doubles and 12 overall. Toronto will be without standout guard DeMar DeRozan (groin) for the second straight game and it lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

The Golden State Warriors just swept a five-game road trip for the first time since 1978 and are off to the best start in franchise history. The Warriors will try to make it 10 straight wins overall when they return home to host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. The Magic were one of the teams victimized by Golden State on the road trip, when Stephen Curry went off for 28 points and eight assists in a 111-96 triumph last on Wednesday.