THE FACT: The Mavericks built a 24-point lead late in the second quarter before hanging to beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland. THE LEAD: Shooting guard Monta Ellis collected 22 points and eight assists as the Dallas Mavericks edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-97 on Monday at Quicken Loans Arena. Small forward Shawn Marion added 18 points for the Mavs (25-18), while power forward Dirk Nowitzki had 17 points and 10 rebounds. All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving recorded game highs of 26 points and nine assists for the Cavaliers (15-26), who also got 18 points and 21 rebounds from center Anderson Varejao. Small forward Luol Deng scored 20 points in his first home game with Cleveland. QUOTABLE: "We knew it would be a dogfight, but we stuck the course, took the punches they were throwing, and came up with the win. We'll be a great team if we play like that with our back against the wall when we face adversity." -- Mavericks shooting guard Monta Ellis THE STAT: Dallas took its largest lead at 59-35 on a 3-pointer by rookie point guard Shane Larkin with 51 seconds remaining in the first half. It was a stunning turnaround from two days earlier, when the Mavericks trailed by 38 points in a 127-111 home loss to Portland. "This was a big bounce-back win from an embarrassing loss the other day," Ellis said. "We've just got to take it game by game and work hard every night. Good things will happen if we do." TURNING POINT: The Cavaliers pulled within 91-89 on a Deng 3-pointer with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter, but Irving missed a potential game-tying jumper and a go-ahead 3-pointer on their subsequent possession. Cleveland never got closer than three points again, but trailed only 100-97 with 3.4 seconds remaining when point guard Jarrett Jack was called for a five-second inbounds violation. "It was a crucial turnover, but obviously we'll learn from it," Irving said. QUOTABLE II: "In front of our home fans, the performance that we had in the first half wasn't acceptable for ourselves or the organization. We weren't there for each other on the defensive end and we couldn't make shots." -- Cavaliers power forward Tristan Thompson HOT: Mavericks power forward DeJuan Blair and Marion combined to make their first 11 shots and score 29 points over the first 2½ quarters. They finished the day 12-for-15 from the field. ... Dallas center Brandan Wright had 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench -- and was defending Jack on his fateful inbounds play. ... The Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 46-39, including 33-15 in the second half when Varejao grabbed 16. ... Varejao now has five career 20-plus rebound games. ... Thompson notched his fourth straight double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. NOT: Mavericks center Samuel Dalembert exited with a left shoulder strain early in the third quarter. His condition will be updated Tuesday. ... Dallas shooting guard Vince Carter misfired on eight of his nine field goal attempts. ... The Cavaliers' bench was outscored 33-8 and did not record a steal or blocked shot. ... Irving was ticketed for two charging fouls and committed a game-high four turnovers. ... Cleveland rookie power forward Anthony Bennett -- the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft -- was active, but did not play for the fourth game in a row. QUOTABLE III: "We're not sitting where we want to be record-wise, but even after all the ups and downs, and adding Luol [Deng)], I like the direction that we're going. We're still learning ourselves, but we're getting better." -- Cavaliers coach Mike Brown GOOD MOVE: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle used point guards Jose Calderon and Devin Harris for six minutes apiece in the final period. They each made one basket while limiting Irving to 1-for-8 shooting and two points. It was Harris' second game of the season after returning from left foot surgery. "Devin made a big difference today defensively," Carlisle said. "He also helped our penetration offensively." BAD MOVE: The Cavaliers -- playing at Quicken Loans Arena for the first time since Jan. 7 -- inexcusably sleepwalked through the opening two quarters. Cleveland's first three substitutes were the biggest offenders as shooting guard Dion Waiters, center Tyler Zeller and small forward Earl Clark combined to play 20 scoreless first-half minutes, while missing six shots and committing three fouls. NOTABLE: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sat adjacent to the Dallas bench, next to Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona. ... The Cavaliers went 3-2 on their season-long, five-game, eight-day road trip that ended Friday in Denver. ... Dallas' inactives were rookie shooting guard Ricky Ledo (NBA D-League assignment with Texas Legends) and point guard Gal Mekel (right knee surgery), while Cleveland did not dress rookie shooting guard Carrick Felix (NBA D-League assignment with Canton Charge) and rookie small forward Sergey Karasev. UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Wednesday @ Toronto, Friday @ Brookly

• published: 21 Jan 2014
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