National Basketball Association
Cleveland 134, Dallas 122
When: 8:30 PM ET, Friday, January 3, 2025
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials:
#29 Mark Lindsay, #68 Jacyn Goble, #78 Evan Scott
Attendance:
20231
By Field Level Media
Evan Mobley collected 34 points and 10 rebounds to fuel the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers to a 134-122 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
One day after being named the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month, Mobley put on a show at the offensive end. The power forward scored 18 points in the second quarter, finishing the night 14 of 21 from the floor and 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
Caris LeVert scored 17 points off the bench while Darius Garland recorded 16 points and nine assists for the Cavaliers, who posted their ninth straight win overall -- all by double digits.
Donovan Mitchell and Georges Niang each scored 15 points as Cleveland coasted to victory against a short-handed Dallas team that was playing without former Cavalier Kyrie Irving (illness) and superstar Luka Doncic (calf).
Cleveland shot a robust 53.1 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from 3-point range in the game.
Quentin Grimes scored 26 points, Jaden Hardy had 17 off the bench and Klay Thompson sank four of 10 3-point attempts to highlight his 16-point performance for the Mavericks, who have lost four straight games.
Brandon Williams made a short jumper to stake the Mavericks to a 21-17 lead before the Cavaliers responded by scoring the next 20 points to bridge the first and second quarters. Niang drained a pair of 3-pointers and Mobley also connected from beyond the arc during the run.
Cleveland extended its lead to 18 points (41-23) on Dean Wade's dunk in transition early in the second. It matched that advantage at 58-40 after Mobley's dunk late in the quarter.
The Cavaliers pushed their lead to 78-53 early in the third quarter on a Mobley 3-pointer, a four-point play by Mitchell and a floating jumper from Garland.
Garland's 3-pointer later in the quarter extended Cleveland's advantage to 27 points at 93-66. Dallas trimmed the deficit to nine at 129-120 with 1:16 to play before running out of gas.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Cleveland |
|
Dallas |
Evan Mobley 34 |
Scoring |
Quentin Grimes 26 |
Darius Garland 9 |
Assists |
Quentin Grimes 6 |
Evan Mobley 10 |
Rebounds |
Dereck Lively II 11 |
Donovan Mitchell 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Quentin Grimes 7 |
Caris LeVert 2 |
Steals |
Quentin Grimes 1 |
Evan Mobley 2 |
Blocks |
Daniel Gafford 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Cleveland
|
134 |
53.1 |
15-40 |
15-20 |
38 |
46 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
Dallas
|
122 |
43.0 |
12-44 |
24-30 |
29 |
53 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Dallas will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .571 after a loss.
-
Cleveland will play their next game at home against Charlotte. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .897 after a win and .800 after a loss.