Points were extremely difficult to come by for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. So much so that coach Jason Kidd decided to start backup center Christian Wood in the second half.
After the Mavs scored just 41 points in the first half against the Cavs, Wood tallied 12 of his 20 points in the second half when Dallas scored 49 points. Unfortunately, although the Mavs also held Cleveland to only 45 points after halftime, it wasn’t enough as the Cavs got out of American Airlines Center with a 105-90 victory.
On benching starting center Dwight Powell in favor of Wood at the outset of the third quarter, Kidd said: “We couldn’t score, but I thought C-Wood got us going there. Then we talked about — at halftime — who could help slow down (Donovan) Mitchell. We looked at Reggie (Bullock).
“Reggie had another good game in the first half for us. Then we started to talk about, you know, is there a way we could get C-Wood to start (so he could) get us some points, and he got us off to a good start in the third.”
Wood wound up converting 7-of-14 shots, including 4-of-7 from three-point territory. He also added seven rebounds.
“He can stretch the floor,” Kidd said. “So, with being able to have C-Wood on the floor, his ability to shoot, catch and drive, it helped us there in that first quarter and then helped us in the third.”
The 90 points the Mavs scored represent their second-lowest scoring output of the season. Their season-low of 87 points came during a seven-point loss in Orlando on Nov. 9.
Here are the takeaways from the Cavs’ 15-point win over the Mavs.
MITCHELL WAS A PROBLEM: Donovan Mitchell scored more points in the first half than four of the Mavs’ starters scored in the entire game. Mitchell tallied 27 of his game-high 34 points in the opening half. On the flip side, Mavs starters Spencer Dinwiddie (10), Dorian Finney-Smith (seven), Dwight Powell (four) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (three) combined to score 24 points in the entire game. Mitchell was 13-of-20 from the field, including 6-of-9 from downtown. He also scored 10 points when the Cavs went on a 17-0 run in the second quarter.
TALL BALL WAS A PROBLEM: The Cavs duo of forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen was a problem all night for the Mavs. Mobley and Allen only combined for one blocked shot, but their mere presence made the Mavs think twice about going inside to challenge them. Mobley finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Allen added 14 points, six boards and three assists. They combined to help the Cavs outscore the Mavs in the paint, 52-26.
DONCIC SET ANOTHER RECORD: Luka Doncic is the new holder of yet another Mavs’ franchise record. With the 30 points he scored Wednesday, Doncic has now tallied 20 or more points in 35 consecutive games. That includes his final nine games last season and his 26 games this season. That’s a franchise record after Doncic entered the Cavs’ game co-holding the record of 34 with Mark Aguirre (Nov. 22, 1983-Feb. 1, 1984). Doncic also is the first Mavs’ player to open a season scoring 20 or more points in his first 26 games.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
Share and comment