In this article
- Cleveland Cavaliers Close The First Half On A 28-9 Run
- Kyrie Irving Scores 20 In The Third Quarter
- Tyrese Proctor Posts A Triple-Double For Short-Handed Cleveland
- Dallas Mavericks Play The Second Half Without A Turnover
- Irving Backs Cooper Flagg After A 6-Of-19 Night
- Irving Returns For Cleveland’s 2016 Anniversary Night
- What’s Next For Dallas
CLEVELAND — The Dallas Mavericks held a one-point lead midway through the second quarter Saturday night, then gave up 28 of the next 37 points and spent the rest of the night chasing a Cleveland Cavaliers team missing most of its regulars. Cleveland won 127-117 at Rocket Arena.
The Cavaliers played without Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, James Harden, Jarrett Allen, Peyton Watson, and Sam Merrill, one night after a 133-121 loss at Miami. They still shot 53.3% from the field, outrebounded Dallas 54-39, and got at least 13 points from six players.
Dallas fell to 7-6 with its second straight loss after Thursday’s 133-94 defeat at Minnesota. Cleveland improved to 7-7.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points on 11-of-25 shooting, including 7-of-16 from three, on a night the Cavaliers set aside as one of three theme games marking the 10th anniversary of their 2016 championship. He had 6 points at halftime and 20 in the third quarter. Irving added 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Cooper Flagg finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 38 minutes, but he shot 6-of-19 and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Caleb Martin scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and grabbed 8 rebounds. Naji Marshall had 12 points and 5 assists off the bench, and P.J. Washington Jr. and Daniel Gafford scored 10 apiece.
Mavericks coach Dusty May opened his postgame news conference with the second quarter, when Cleveland’s shot making built the lead Dallas chased the rest of the night.
“Disappointing road performance by us as a group,” May said. “We didn’t match their desire and determination to compete, and everyone in our travel party needs to be better. But hats off to Cleveland. Those guys got off a plane, and they were ready to compete at a high level.”
“And they threw the first punch, and then the second quarter, the shot making was impressive, and they were able to build a lead, and we were playing from behind the rest of the game,” May continued.
Cleveland Cavaliers Close The First Half On A 28-9 Run
Neither team led by more than six points in a first quarter that had seven lead changes and six ties. Martin scored 9 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the period, including a fast-break dunk after he stripped Thomas Bryant. Rookie Meleek Thomas answered with three 3-pointers for Cleveland, and the last one, a 26-foot pull-up with 19.2 seconds left, tied it 33-33.
Dallas’ last lead came on a Gafford putback dunk that made it 44-43 with 6:25 left in the second quarter. Cleveland scored 28 of the 37 points that followed. Jaylon Tyson scored 12 of his 18 points in the quarter, and a 10-0 burst after a Martin putback included baskets from Craig Porter Jr., Thomas, and Norchad Omier. Tyrese Proctor made a 30-footer with 1.5 seconds left for a 71-53 halftime lead.
The Mavericks went 0-of-6 from three and committed 5 turnovers in the second quarter. Cleveland made 14 of 24 shots and all 8 of its free throws in the period and outscored Dallas 38-20.
Martin had 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting by halftime. The urgency gap with Cleveland, in his view, started with the defensive tone Dallas set at the opening tip.
“Like we just didn’t have any,” Martin said. “Honestly, we just came out flat, and I think all the way down the line, including myself, we came out flat. It impacted the game from the jump and set the tone defensively and kind of let the offense kind of dictate what we were doing for the rest of the game, and yeah, we just didn’t come out and give our best version of that.”
May gave a one-sentence answer on whether Dallas brought the right urgency into the first half after Thursday’s loss in Minnesota.
“We definitely didn’t play with the right level of urgency,” May explained.
Kyrie Irving Scores 20 In The Third Quarter
Cleveland pushed its lead to 21 four times in the third quarter. The first came on a Mario Hezonja fast-break layup that made it 79-58 with 9:27 left and forced a Dallas timeout.
Irving scored 20 points in the quarter on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three. After Proctor’s step-back 3 made it 95-74 with 4:27 left, Dallas went on a 14-2 run, and Irving scored 11 of those points. His 30-foot pull-up with 1:39 left cut the deficit to 97-88.
Hezonja answered with a 26-foot 3-pointer on the next trip. He scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the quarter, and Cleveland scored 8 of the last 11 points of the period to lead 105-91.
May said the attention Irving draws is creating good looks for other Mavericks.
“He’s picking his spots, and obviously he’s garnering a lot of attention,” May said. “And I think he’s getting some other guys really good looks, and we just, as a group, we need to play better. We need to shoot better. We definitely need to defend and rebound at a much higher level with more urgency.”
Irving said the shortfall goes back further than Saturday. Over Dallas’ last few games, he said, the Mavericks have not come close to matching the physicality of the teams they have faced.
“When your head coach is calling it out, that’s got to do something to you, just in terms of how you handle it and how you respond,” Irving said. “But he’s absolutely right. I think these last few games, we haven’t even been close to matching physicality of the teams coming in against us and against the best league in the world, against the best players in the world, and your margin for error is very small.”
“So we just don’t have time to feel our way through the game and not do the little things that we speak on in preparation, or when we’re in preparation, or in just practice, and just need better carryover,” Irving continued. “So he’s absolutely right, and that’s holding us accountable to the highest level when we got to respond.”
Tyrese Proctor Posts A Triple-Double For Short-Handed Cleveland
Proctor finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists on 10-of-19 shooting. The points and assists were career highs, and the rebounds tied his career best. The second-year guard, the 49th overall pick in 2025 out of Duke, had four more assists than any other player in the game.
Hezonja scored a season-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Thomas, the 34th pick in June’s draft, set a career high with 20 points. Bryant had season highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds, Tyson’s 18 points were a season high, and Omier set career highs with 13 points and 8 rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting.
Cleveland finished with 31 assists to Dallas’ 23 and outscored the Mavericks 54-42 in the paint. The Cavaliers scored 23 points on 19 isolation possessions, according to Synergy Sports data. Dallas scored 3 points on six.
Cleveland’s guards, with their speed, size, and shooting, lined up Dallas defenders all night, according to May.
“Our inability to guard one on one was the biggest issue, and then they were able to get behind our defense, our switches,” May said. “I thought their passing, but their isolation offense was, and shot making was the difference.”
May said he had studied Proctor on film before the game.
“I’ve been impressed on film,” May said. “I was actually talking about him earlier on the bus ride over today. He’s really improved. Seems like he gets better. He’s playing with a high level of confidence, and then these guys with speed, size, and shooting ability, they’ve been able to line us up and play really, really good one-on-one basketball.”
“I mean, those guys are really, really good one-on-one players,” May added. “I thought their guards did a nice job on the glass as well when they were undersized, and it seemed like Hezonja made several back-breaking shots. We’d make a run, and he would make a big play, and credit to him. I mean, he’s been obviously a big pickup for them.”
Irving and Proctor both played at Duke, and both have Australian roots. Irving was born in Melbourne, and Proctor is from Sydney. Irving said he has watched Proctor grow since Proctor was a young player.
“Ah, man, my Aussie brother, man,” Irving said. “It’s something about this Aussie man in the league, man. I’ll tell you, man. It’s something. I don’t know what’s going on in the water over there. Maybe Team Australia is coming up for gold in the next few years, but he’s, he played with a lot of confidence tonight, and he led their team.”
“It was great to, I don’t want to say be a part of out there, but just like when you’re seeing someone that you’ve watched grow from a young player, be in college for as long as he was, didn’t anticipate him being in college that long,” Irving continued. “Being a Duke Blue Devil as well, and having that connection, just seeing him mature, and also playing behind great players, that sometimes get a little difficult. So tonight, he definitely has something to prove, and he went out and did it, and we didn’t shut off his water quick enough.”
Mitchell, Mobley, and Merrill were inactive along with Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Ernest Udeh Jr.. Harden was listed for right elbow injury management, Allen for right knee management, and Watson for right hamstring management. May would not speculate on whether that lineup affected his players’ approach.
“I don’t want to speak for what’s going on in their subconscious,” May said. “We’re not good enough to overcome anything other than showing up and giving our best effort.”
Martin did not pretend the thought never crossed anyone’s mind. The standard, he said, does not change with the opponent’s lineup.
“I’m sure naturally, I’m not gonna say it out loud and act like I’m sure none of us thought that for one second,” Martin explained. “But that’s where the good teams are. That’s where great teams are great. That’s why good teams are good. It doesn’t matter who’s playing. They stick to the plan.”
“They come in and execute the game plan, no matter who’s playing,” Martin continued. “Even if there’s just players that are shifted, the mindset’s still the same. The concepts are still the same. The effort’s still the same, and that’s how, that’s the only way to be a good team.”
Dallas Mavericks Play The Second Half Without A Turnover
Dallas committed all 8 of its turnovers before halftime. The Mavericks did not turn it over again, and they outscored Cleveland 64-56 over the final two quarters while the Cavaliers committed 10 turnovers.
Proctor made consecutive 3-pointers 31 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter. The second made it 113-91 with 10:27 left, Cleveland’s largest lead.
Dallas got no closer than 10. Irving’s 10-foot pull-up made it 122-112 with 2:23 left, and Flagg’s three-point play with 28.3 seconds left set the final margin. Irving scored 8 points in the quarter, and Santi Aldama finished plus-16 with 7 points in 16 minutes.
May said Dallas competed at a high level after halftime.
“Just as a whole, we just have to play with the level of desperation we played in the second half,” May said. “I thought we competed really at a high level in the second half. Our sense of urgency to track down loose basketballs, to get our hands on 50-50s, to get deflections, to not let them be so comfortable, I thought was solid, and more of what we need our defensive identity to be and look like.”
On what Dallas could have done better defensively, Martin said the standard has to hold no matter who is on the floor.
“Everything. I think everything: our communication, the physicality, our pressure,” Martin said. “We did a better job in the second half. But we got to do that. It’s got to be our identity, and we got to be consistent no matter who’s playing, no matter what’s going on in the game.”
Dallas shot 41.9% from the field and 14-of-44 from three. Martin said missed shots are part of a game of runs.
“It’s natural. I mean, obviously, we’re a lot of players are part of their toughest critic, and obviously, it’s easy to get down on yourself, but I mean, that’s part of the game,” Martin said. “We’re not gonna make every shot, and at the end of the day, if you’re playing hard, good things happen. It doesn’t really matter if, the shots will eventually fall.”
“Just like you can start the game really hot and go cold. It could be the reverse for a team who’s not making shots early,” Martin continued. “Like the game, the game is, it’s a game of runs, and I think that we all know that. We just have to continue to believe that, and stay the course. And that’s why we gotta hang our hat on the defensive end, because that’s the one thing you control in the game.”
Irving Backs Cooper Flagg After A 6-Of-19 Night
Flagg was 4-of-13 through three quarters and 2-of-6 in the fourth. He did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes and went 6-of-8 at the free-throw line. Flagg scored a season-high 43 points in Monday’s win over Indiana, and he and Irving combined for 78 that night.
Irving, 34, said it is his job to take pressure off Flagg, who is in his second NBA season.
“He’s in his sophomore year. I think I said in the beginning of the season as well, he has a target on his back. He knows that,” Irving said. “It’s my job to alleviate a lot of the pressure that he feels. But he’s just being battle tested. Teams are getting up in his chest. Teams are being physical, and this is the time where we all got to fight back together, and it’s not just on him. It’s obviously we got to bring the best out of him too, and he’s got to bring the best out of himself.”
“But most importantly, he’s not alone out there, and we got to do a better job, including myself, get him going, and not so much of a putting the responsibility on him to initiate every single action,” Irving continued. “He does a great job of doing it, but now we just got to get him some easy ones to get him going. And he’s going to do a great job over his next few games, so I’m not worried. But every sophomore in the league goes through it at some point in the season.”
“And he had a great start to the season. He still is, but these last few games are just things that he’s gonna look back on and film,” Irving added. “And me as a teammate, it’s just continuing to feed him confidence. And young player coming in, and he’s got to prove himself still every single day.”
Irving Returns For Cleveland’s 2016 Anniversary Night
Saturday was the second of three 10th Anniversary Celebration games the Cavaliers scheduled this season, after a Nov. 7 game against New York and before a Dec. 12 game against Golden State. Cleveland drafted Irving first overall in 2011, and he made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers traded him to Boston in 2017.
This reception felt different from his previous returns, Irving said, because the flow of the game let him settle in and take it in.
“This one felt a lot different than the other times, just because of maybe just the patience, in terms of like the game flow,” Irving said. “Last time, you just kind of do a quick coming out of a timeout, but this time I got to really settle in, really ground myself, and embrace the support that’s here for me. It’s been 10 years, but it’s been a great reflection point for me to be able to come back and be able to again receive that support in a different way.”
“I’m so grateful for all the Cavs fans, Cleveland in general, Ohio, wrapping their arms around me as well, and also sticking it through with me as I was a young person, just launching shots, trying to be the best player in the world, and trying to be in the MVP conversations at a very young age,” Irving continued.
What’s Next For Dallas
Dallas played without Dereck Lively II, Max Christie, Sergio De Larrea, and Tarik Biberović. Zaccharie Risacher scored 5 points, Morez Johnson Jr. had 4, and Walter Clayton Jr. had 2. Moussa Cissé, Jett Howard, Tobi Lawal, and Marcus Sasser did not play.
The Mavericks finish a back-to-back Sunday against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT.
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