Mavericks at Cavaliers
THE STORY: Just as the Dallas Mavericks were appearing to round into top form, a couple of home losses have brought the reigning NBA champions back to earth. Dallas will look to avoid a third consecutive defeat when it visits the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Following an ugly start to the season, the Mavericks had turned things around and had won six of their last seven before a 95-86 loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. The offensive struggles continued Friday night in a 98-87 home loss to the Indiana Pacers. In each defeat, the Mavericks were limited to 34 second-half points. “There's going to be some frustrations with games like this,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “But we've just got to keep our eye on the ball. As it goes along, we'll get better as a basketball team, but the last two games have been tough.” Cleveland has lost the last three meetings against Dallas.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSSW, FSOH
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (14-10): A huge silver lining in Friday’s loss was a 30-point performance by Dirk Nowitzki – two more than he had scored in his previous three games combined. It was Nowitzki’s fourth game back since sitting out four games to help strengthen his ailing knee. "The strength in my legs is coming back. Hard work always pays off,” Nowitzki said. The NBA Finals MVP needs 20 points Saturday to surpass Elgin Baylor (23,149) for 22nd place on the career scoring list.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (8-13): Cleveland suffered its seventh loss in nine games, falling at Orlando 102-94 on Friday. Four of Cavaliers’ starters combined to shoot 30 percent (18 of 59) from the floor. C Anderson Varejao had his second straight double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. He is one of 11 players in the league averaging double-figure points and rebounds. Due to injuries, undrafted rookie G Mychel Thompson was forced to make his second career start. He was scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for January after averaging 18.1 points and 4.9 assists.
2. Dallas owner Mark Cuban was fined $75,000 by the NBA for criticizing the officiating in the loss to the Thunder. Carlisle was fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the stands in the same game.