Cavaliers humiliate stunned Mavericks 144-101

BY TIM SHIRER

CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER

(CLEVELAND, OH) - The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Sunday’s game with a 39-9 record, the best in the NBA. They were hosting the Dallas Mavericks (26-23, 12-13 road) minus one of their two superstars Luka Doncic, now former superstar as he was traded to the Los Angeles Laker late Saturday night sending shock waves through the sports world. The Mavericks received Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round draft pick. Davis and Christie were not yet with the team. The Cavaliers, while enjoying their historic start they want to be in June where the Mavericks were last season, in the NBA Finals. The Mavs were shorthanded due to the trade and former Cavs Kyrie Irving was out due to right shoulder soreness. The Cavs were also shorthanded as they were still without Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade, but the impact of the Donci trade was apparent as the Cavs who led by 45 points at halftime and as many as 53 blew out the emotional drained Mavericks 144-101 to improve to an NBA best 40-9.

The Cavs jumped out to a 15-7 lead on a three by Darius Garland with 8:18, his third in a period of one minute and six seconds. With 6:20 left the Cavs lead ballooned to 24-9 on a dunk by Jarrett Allen courtesy of a pass from Evan Mobley. The Mobley got in the act by hitting a three with 5:45 left in the first quarter and the Cavs were dominating the Mavericks 27-9. With 4:32 left the Cavs continued to pour it on as they took a 34-10 lead when Garland scored in the paint. The Cavs would not let up and with :31.5 left George Niang gave the Cavs a 47-19 lead hitting the Cavs. Then with :03.1 left in the first quarter the Cavs took a 50-19 lead when Mitchell hit the Cavs ninth three out of eleven attempts in the first 12 minutes. Garland led all scorers in the quarter with 13 points, Dante Exum led the Mavericks with five points. The 50 points is a franchise record for points scored by the Cavs in any quarter. The previous record was 47 against the New York Knicks on March 31, 2023. The Cavs shot 72% (18 of 25) from the field in the opening quarter while the Mavericks struggled shooting 29% (7 of 24). The Cavs also dominated on the boards outrebounding 17-6.

With 8:23 left in the second quarter, the Cavs led 63-28 when Sam Merrill struck from three-point range, the Cavs 12th of the opening half to that point. With 6:24 left Jaylon Tyson got into the act hitting shot in the paint, he was fouled on the play. After hitting the free throw the Cavs led 71-33. The Cavs took a 39 point lead with 2:51 left in the first half when Caris LeVert hit a three after a Mavericks turnover. The game was LeVert’s first after an 11 game absence. The quarter ended with the Cavs in complete command and a 91-46 lead. The 91 points in s Cavs franchise record and just 16 points shy of the NBA record for points in a half by the Phoenix Suns against the Denver Nuggets on November 10, 1990. The Cavs’ previous high for points in a half was 83, it happened twice, first on January 15, 1993, against the Indiana Pacers and then again on January 2, 2023, against the Bulls. Garland led all scorers with 17 first half points. The Cavs had four players in double figures, Mobley 15, Mitchell 12, Merrill 12. Exum led the Mavs with 12 points in the first 24 minutes. The Cavs shot a whopping 66% (33 of 50) in the opening half while the Mavs struggled shooting just 33% (17 of 51). The Cavs were even hotter from three-point range as they shot 73% (16 of 22) and Dallas shot a miserable 22% (4 of 18). The Cavs also dominated the boards 27-20.

The Cavs lead continued to build and with 8:50 left in the third the lead was 47 points after a Mavericks turnover and Allen fastbreak dunk. With 5:12 left after Allen was fouled and made both free throws the Cavs led 109-60. As the clock expired ending the third quarter the Cavs’ lead was 119-75. Mobley led all scorers with 22 points. Exum and Jaden Hardy led the Mavs with 14 points apiece.

With 9:14 left in the game LeVert hit a three-point basket from the top of the arc and the Cavs had their biggest lead 51 points, leading 130-79. The fourth quarter was just a lot of guys off the bench for both clubs getting playing time and as the clock ran out the Cavs notched their 40th win of the season 144-101.

The Cavs not only set the team record for points in a half with 91 in the first half, but also set a franchise record with 26 threes’, Merrill hit nine setting the team record late in the game as the crowd was sent into a frenzy.

Merrill led all scorers with 27 points. Mobley notched a double double in just 23 minutes scoring 22 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. The Cavs had a whopping eight players in double figures. Hardy led the Mavs to a losing effort with 21 points.

The Cavs ended up shooting 56% (53 of 93) with 40 assists and shot 58% (26 of 45) from behind the three-point line. The Mavericks on the other hand struggled in every shooting aspect as they shot 39% (40 of 104) from the field and even worse from three-point range as the finished shooting 21% (9 of 44). The Cavs also won the rebounding battle 51-45.

The Cavs are now one game better record wise than the 2008-09 Cavs team that went 66-16 which the all-time franchise record.

Next up for the Cavs will be the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The two teams with the best records in the Eastern Conference have met twice this season, splitting the pair of games. The Celtics handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season on November 19 120-117 at TD Bank Garden in Boston. The Cavs responded beating the Celtics 115-111 on December first at RMFH..