Cavaliers rout Mavericks 128-90
CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and stayed hot from the 3-point line in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 128-90 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Kyrie Irving scored 25 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 11 assists and Tristan Thompson scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. None of them played the fourth quarter in a game that was long over by halftime.
A 3-pointer from Love, one of seven he made Friday, extended the lead to 68-28 in the second quarter. One game after he scored 34 points in the first quarter on Wednesday, Love made seven more 3-pointers Friday to give him 15 in the last two games. He made 18 through the first 12 games of the season.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, Seth Curry scored 13 off the bench and Andrew Bogut grabbed 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who lost their eighth straight. It is Dallas’ longest losing streak since it lost 15 in a row during the 1997-98 season -- the year before Nowtizki entered the NBA.
Nowitzki just recently returned from an Achilles injury and starting point guard Deron Williams has battled a strained calf that has cost him eight games this season.
The Mavericks dragged the league’s worst record into Friday’s game primarily because of injuries. This marked just the fourth time all season they played with their projected starting lineup, but it didn’t matter.
The 16 points Dallas scored in the first quarter were the fewest for any Cleveland opponent this season. The 38 points the Mavericks managed at the half matched the fewest scored in any half against the Cavs this season.
The Cavs averaged 132.5 points in wins this week against the Blazers and Mavericks.
They led by as many as 45 in the second half Friday and have now won their last three games by an average of 24 points.
NOTES: Cavs F/C Channing Frye has been excused from the team following the death of his father. Frye’s mother died less than a month ago. “On a day for thanks. Be thankful for the person next to you,” Frye wrote on his Instagram account. “Y’all better love on your family.” ... The Cavs will attend Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus as a team, marking the first version of The Game the LeBron James will see live. He is a huge Ohio State fan who supplied players with versions of his Nike LeBrons for the game. ... Mavericks G Deron Williams returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a strained left calf. ... Injuries have forced the Mavericks to use 11 different starting lineups in their first 15 games.