Smith, Love lift Cavs past Mavs
DALLAS -- The Cleveland Cavaliers rode J.R. Smith's outside shooting and Kevin Love's ninth double-double of the season to turn away a feisty and desperate Dallas Mavericks team 111-104 on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center.
Love barely missed matching season highs set on Tuesday against Milwaukee with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds. Smith buried four 3-pointers for 17 points and LeBron James put together a strong final quarter at both ends to finish with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
The Mavs (2-11) were desperate to get something positive going on their home floor, but fell to 1-6 there despite rallying from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and getting as close as 104-102 with 62 seconds to play.
Dallas missed three shots for the lead in the final six minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers from leading scorer Harrison Barnes, and managed to shoot just 42.4 percent against a Cavs defense that routinely has been surrendering more than 110 points a game.
The Mavs shot just 29.4 percent (10 of 34) from beyond the arc.
It was Dallas' sixth loss of the season by seven points or less.
Cleveland (6-7) got 13 points off the bench from Kyle Korver, including three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws with 36.8 seconds left after he grabbed a crucial defensive rebound. Jae Crowder haunted his former team with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Harrison led Dallas with 23 points. Point guard Dennis Smith Jr., a rookie of the year candidate, had 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 14 points and Wesley Matthews had 12.
The Mavs got off to a 16-6 lead and took a three-point advantage into halftime. But the Cavs regained the lead with a 34-point third quarter and held on down the stretch.
NOTES: Cavaliers G Derrick Rose missed his second consecutive game -- and sixth in 13 games -- with a left ankle injury. He is unlikely to be availability for the remaining two games of this road trip. ... G Iman Shumpert started in Rose's place. ... G J.R. Smith's four 3-pointers tied him with Mavericks F Dirk Nowitzki for 13th on the NBA's all-time 3-point list. Nowitzki made two, giving both players 1,797. ... Mavs G Devin Harris left the game in the second half with bruised ribs and did not return. ... Dallas C Nerlens Noel registered his first DNP of the season.