Final:
Cavaliers: 97 – Mavericks: 104
The Cavaliers shot 46.7% from the field and 37.5% from three.
The Mavericks shot 45.3% from the field and 28.1% from three.
High Scorers:
CLE: L. James – 23 points
DAL: H. Barnes – 24 points
Rebounds:
CLE: 42 (L. James – 9 rebounds)
DAL: 42 (H. Barnes – 11 rebounds)
Assists:
CLE: 17 (L. James – 9 assists)
DAL: 19 (D. Harris – 5 assists)
1st Half:
Cavaliers: 50 – Mavericks: 55
The Cavaliers are shooting 44.4% from the field and 33.3% from three.
The Mavericks are shooting 47.8% from the field and 25.0% from three.
High Scorers:
CLE: L. James – 13 points
DAL: H. Barnes – 14 points
Rebounds:
CLE: 21 (L. James – 6 rebounds)
DAL: 24 (H. Barnes – 6 rebounds)
Assists:
CLE: 7 (L. James – 3 assists)
DAL: 10 (Y. Ferrell – 3 assists)
Game Preview:
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UPCOMING MILESTONES: With four blocks, LeBron reaches 800 in his career. Kyrie Irving also needs five more steals to obtain 9th place in Cavaliers’ history – passing John Bagley. Tristan Thompson will pass Anderson Varejao for 3rd most offensive rebounds in franchise history with 10 more.
Looking to move on after their rocky last few weeks, the Cavaliers head to Dallas in an attempt to start up a new winning streak after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-91 yesterday. The Dallas Mavericks are currently 17-30, placing them third last in the Western Conference. In their last ten games, however, they are 6-4, whereas the Cavaliers are 4-6 in their last ten. These teams have faced once already this season – a resounding 128-90 win for the Wine-and-Gold on November 25th.
Offensively, despite having just the 17th best three-point percentage, the Mavericks rely heavily on shots beyond the arc. In total, they score 33.3% of their points on threes, fourth most in the league. They don’t look to push the ball as much as other teams – they average a league-least 6.8 fast break points per game. In addition, they average the fewest second chance points [due to their 8.2 offensive rebounds per game, least in the NBA] and the fewest points inside the paint. With the fourth fewest assists, they are the second most frequent user of isolation plays – at 11.5% of their possessions, second only to the Cavaliers. As a team, they tend to play slowly, averaging just 93.4 possessions per game – tied for least in the league.
On defense, they’ve allowed their opponents to shoot 1.1% above their season averages. In addition, they have allowed their opponents to shoot the highest three point percentage in the league – 39.5% – and have given up the third worst opponent field goal percentages within 5 feet of the basket. This presents the Cavaliers an option for either exploiting them down low and cutting or through ball movement and three pointers. Their 29.9 defensive rebounds are also least in the league. In total, though, they’ve allowed just 100.1 points per game, fourth best in the league
Tipoff is set for 8:30 EST and will be broadcast on FOX Sports Ohio.
