The 5 takeaways from the Mavs’ 111-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers
Feb 3, 2019Dwain Price
WHEN IN CLEVELAND: For Luka Doncic, this was one of those ‘when in Rome, do what the Romans would do” kind of game. Doncic was in LeBron James’ former home Saturday night, so he did what LeBron would do. And he, too, did it in an explosive manner. In his first game after the coaches didn’t vote him into this year’s All-Star game, Doncic poured in a career-high tying 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out six assists. He’ll never admit this was a game he was seeking revenge because he got snubbed. But after scoring 18 points in the first quarter and 28 in the first half, the message was heard.
BARNES CAUGHT FIRE: It took a minute or two for Harrison Barnes to warm up. But once he caught fire, the whole place was engulfed in a matter of seconds. Barnes started off missing 9 of his first 10 shots and just couldn’t find his rhythm. But when he did heat up, it was a pleasant sight to see. At one point in the second half Barnes connected on six straight baskets. And three of those were of the 3-point variety as the kept dialing in from long distance with immediate success. Barnes finished with 17 points and five rebounds, and he was 7-of-18 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point land.
NEW STARTING LINEUP: Did you lock Saturday’s starting lineup into your memory bank? You should have, because you may never see it again. The starting five of Harrison Barnes, Luka Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber had only played a total of two minutes together before they were pressed into a starting role on Saturday. But the best part is they all were key contributors as Doncic finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Barnes had 17 points, Brunson scored 15, Finney-Smith collected seven points and 10 rebounds, and Kleber added 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
SECOND HALF DEFENSE: The Mavs held the Cavs to just 41 points in the second half, including only 18 in the fourth quarter. That was in direct contrast to the first half when Cleveland tallied 55 points to 58 points for the Mavs. Or as coach Rick Carlisle described it — the brother-in-law basketball, where each team traded shots. Or as Oprah would say, you get a shot, you get a shot, you, you, you. . .But that all changed in the second half when the Cavs were just 12-of-40 from the field and 2-of-15 from behind the 3-point line after going 22-of-45 from the field and 2-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half.
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD: So the Mavs can indeed win on the road. After going on this three-game excursion with a 4-20 record away from American Airlines Center, the Mavs went 2-1 on this trip following a win last Wednesday against the New York Knicks and one on Saturday at Cleveland. The only loss was Thursday by four points in Detroit when the Mavs’ leading scorer, Luka Doncic, didn’t play due to a sore left ankle. In a related matter, the Mavs held the Knicks (90), Pistons (93) and Cavs (98) all under 100 points. That’s the first time they’ve held three foes in a row under 100 points since Nov. 10-14 when they held Oklahoma City (96), Chicago (98) and Utah 68) under 100 points.
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