The Cleveland Cavaliers just left the Eastern Time Zone for the first time in a month and flew to Dallas to take on the 4th-place team in the Western Conference, a team with aspirations of contention and a true MVP candidate in Luka Doncic. They flew into Dallas…and absolutely pummeled the Mavericks.
In the end, it was a 114-96 victory that wasn’t even as close as that score sounds. The lead was 11 at halftime and 22 entering the 4th, and the Mavericks couldn’t find any way to chip away until both coaches cleared their benches. Luka Doncic had a triple-double but shot just 2-for-10 from 2-point range against the Cavs’ length, and none of his teammates scored more than 14. The Mavs were simply smothered.
The Cavs went into Dallas and pummeled the Mavericks. Who stands out as a stud and dud from the impressive win on Monday night?
It was a dominant team effort, with all five starters plus Kevin Love scoring in double figures. Isaac Okoro hit a 3-pointer! Ricky Rubio scored just seven but was tied with Jarrett Allen with a +30 plus/minus. Evan Mobley was everywhere on defense, blocking just two shots but altering a number of others.
We’ll attempt to narrow things down to highlight one “stud” from the game, and then get creative to find one “dud” from this blowout victory.