Final Dime: Cavaliers 111, Mavericks 95

Delonte West doubled-up in Saturday's win over Dallas. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images

With the crowd and most of the media geared for Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ record-breaking night, Big Z never peeled off the warm-ups – assuming the role of spectator. At least he saw a heck of a show.

Cleveland shot 68 percent in the first half and never looked back, utilizing a combined 50 points by LeBron James and Mo Williams to blow Dallas out – 111-95 – on Saturday night at The Q .

The Cavaliers – who totaled 33 assists as a team – didn’t cool off too much in the second half – shooting 58 percent on the night and holding the high-octane Mavericks to just 16 points in the final period.

Last year’s starting backcourt – Mo Williams and Delonte West – were stellar on Saturday night. Mo was a perfect 7-for-7 from long-distance – 9-of-12 overall – tallying 25 points.

“I just stepped in and knocked them down,” said the always even-keeled Williams. “The last couple games, I think I was 2-for-15. (Tonight) I made the first couple, it felt pretty good and I got some open looks. I never feel uncomfortable from behind the line and tonight was one of those nights.”

Delonte bounced back from some sporadic playing time over the past couple weeks to have his best all-around game of the season – doubling-up with 10 points and a season-high 10 assists. West’s presence – combating Rick Carlisle’s small lineup – changed the complexion of the game.

That small lineup also kept the Large Lithuanian on the bench. He’ll have to wait until Wednesday before breaking Danny Ferry’s record for longevity.

“With Erick Dampier out, (Carlisle)’s been going small, and going into the game I had (Ilgauskas) slotted for his usual 22-24 minutes,” said Brown. “But when they went small, I went small to match up a little better with them.”

LeBron set the tone early on Saturday night – netting eight of his game-high 12 assists in the first quarter. On the night, LeBron finished with 25 points – going 10-for-20 from the floor, with five boards. Once again, No. 23 returned to game midway through the final period, netting seven points in the final seven minutes to close out the affair.

Mo wasn’t the only Cavalier to taste perfection from the field. Anderson Varejao came off Cleveland’s bench to hit all seven attempts from the floor in 32 action-packed minutes. Andy finished 7-for-7 from the floor for 15 points – 13 in the second half – with a team-high nine boards, two assists and a steal.

Overall the Cavaliers’ bench combined to go 17-for-26 from the floor, with the surging Jamario Moon chipping in with a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds of his own.

The Cavaliers get a little home cooking this week starting with the Suns on Wednesday night and a rematch with the Bulls on Friday.

2. With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 4-0 against the Western Conference this season – making them the only Eastern Conference team to do so. The Wine and Gold – who swept Dallas last season – have also topped the Mavericks for the fourth time in six appearances at The Q.

3. While he’s not exactly the prototype starting center, the Mavericks have now gone 6-2 with former Cavalier, Drew Gooden, starting in the middle.

4. After not scoring their 31st point until halfway through the second quarter on Friday night in Charlotte, the league’s top scoring team in the first quarter bounced back with 35 points in the first 12 minutes against Dallas.

5. For the past couple games, injured forward Leon Powe has been working on his mobility with Player Development Coordinator, Lloyd Pierce, and looking good doing so. Powe, who had knee surgery on May 5, came into the pregame locker room ready to roll. “Put me in coach,” said the former Cal Bear. “I’ll give you 10 and 10 in eight minutes.”

6. Delonte West got just 2:28 in mop-up duty on Friday and didn’t play in the previous game in Detroit. On Saturday night, Delonte had his best game of the season – doubling-up with 10 points and 10 boards in 28 minutes of action off Mike Brown’s bench.

“He was awesome; he was great,” praised LeBron. “I told you guys before: Delonte is just one of those guys he could not play for seven or eight straight games and come back in and it’s like he never missed a beat.”

7. Saturday’s game featured two of the highest-scoring combos in the league. LeBron and Mo Williams, who led the NBA in the regular season and playoffs last year are currently the third-highest scoring tandem in the NBA at a combined 46.8 and netted 50 on Saturday. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry average 45.1 together and teamed up for 52 in the 111-95 loss.

8. Cleveland’s 68 percent shooting in the first half marks highest mark since January 8, 2005 when they shot 74 percent against the Knicks. Tonight’s club also set a Quicken Loans record for assists in a half with 23.

9. Mo Williams became the first Cavalier to shoot 100 percent on three-pointers with at least seven three-point attempts. Since 2008-09, the Cavs are 20-0 at home when Williams passes the 20-point plateau.

10. The Cavaliers have held four of their last five opponents under 17 points in the fourth quarter. Over the last five contests, Cleveland is allowing just 14.6 points in the final period.