PREVIEW
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (21-45) AT MAVERICKS (38-28)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Radio: ESPN 103.3 FM; Univision 1270 AM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: From the looks of Thursday’s 113-109 win over the highly-regarded Brooklyn Nets, the Mavs have mentally gotten themselves into playoff mode. Even on a night when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combined for 65 points, the Mavs showed they were not going to be denied. Even on a night when Luka Doncic scored just five of his 24 points in the second half. . .The Mavs and Cavs will see a lot of each other over the next three days, considering that Dallas will also play the Cavs in Cleveland on Sunday. . .No one in the NBA has won more games (eight) over the last 10 games than the Mavs. In fact, the Mavs are 8-3 in their last 11 games. The three losses? They mysteriously were all to the Sacramento Kings. . .In the victory that swept the season series against the Nets, Tim Hardaway Jr. tallied 23 points, Dorian Finney-Smith contributed 17 points and eight rebounds, and Dwight Powell came off the bench to collect 12 points, grab a season-high tying 10 boards and distribute a season-high five assists. . .In his last five games, Hardaway is averaging 26 ppg and shooting 53 percent from the field and an amazing 52.2 percent from behind the 3-point line. In his last five games, Finney-Smith averages 13.4 ppg and is shooting a smoking hot 58.5 percent from the floor and a sizzling 51.9 percent from the 3-point arc. . .The Mavs are a perfect 23-0 this season when they lead after the first quarter. . .Coach Rick Carlisle is tied with Cotton Fitzsimmons for 15th place on the NBA’s all-time winningest coaching list with 832 victories. Right ahead of Carlisle and Fitzsimmons is Jack Ramsay, who finished his career with 864 wins.
About the Cavaliers: Cleveland is tied with the Orlando Magic with the fifth-worst record in the entire NBA. . .The Cavs are just 9-24 on the road and their plus/minus scoring average of -8.1 is the third lowest in the league. They also have the current longest active losing streak in the NBA at eight straight losses. In other words, the Cavs have fallen on hard times. . .Cleveland has dropped 11 of its last 12 games. The last time the Cavs won a game was on April 21 when they defeated the Chicago Bulls, 121-105, behind 30 points and seven assists from Collin Sexton, 25 points and two steals from Darius Garland, and 15 points and nine rebounds from Kevin Love. . .The Cavs actually opened the season, 3-0, following wins over Charlotte (121-114), Detroit (128-119 in two overtimes) and Philadelphia (118-94). But it has been mostly all downhill after that as they also pieced together a dreadful 10-game losing streak from Feb. 3-21. . .Cleveland enters tonight’s game after getting blown out at home by the Portland Trail Blazers this past Wednesday, 141-105. Love led the Cavs with 18 points and eight rebounds, Dean Wade came off the bench to provide 16 points and five boards, Sexton tallied 15 points, and Cedi Osman added 14 points. . .The Cavs have dropped their last four meetings to the Mavs by an average of 20 ppg. In their two games against the Mavs last season, the Cavs lost 131-111 in Cleveland and 143-101 in Dallas. . .Sexton leads Cleveland in scoring with 24.3 ppg, Garland is averaging 17.7 ppg and 6.2 apg, Jarrett Allen averages 13.7 ppg and 9.9 rpg, and Love is averaging 11.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment