Reasons Cavs are defending champs and Mavs are NBA’s worst show in 128-90 Cleveland win
CLEVELAND, Ohio — At virtually any moment during the third quarter, if not the second, one could easily envision Dallas coach Rick Carlisle frantically searching under the bench chairs muttering “there’s got to be a white towel around here somewhere.”
Had he found it, he’d have thrown it in the Cavs’ general direction.
The defending NBA champs and the league’s worst team played their respective roles to a T in Cleveland’s 128-90 trouncing of the Mavericks Friday night at The Q.
LeBron James and the Cavs (12-2) can now board that plane for Columbus and Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game in peace. (As an aside, what was higher, the Cavs’ final point total or the number of times The Q’s game ops people played “Hang On Sloopy”?)
This was the Cavs’ largest margin of victory this season. They drained 20 3-pointers to Dallas’ eight. You do the math.
Staying hot from his 40-point outburst Wednesday, Kevin Love again led the Cavs with 27 points and added 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 25 points in the first quarter. James chipped in 19 points and 11 assists.
All of this, mind you, was in three quarters of work. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue pulled four of his five starters with 1:48 left in the third and Cleveland ahead by 42. It was 72-38 at halftime so, yeah, a running clock in the second half would’ve been fine for Carlisle.
The Mavericks are now 2-13 and have lost eight straight. They have lots of players you’ve heard of, names like Dirk Nowitzki (15 points), Deron Williams (four…
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