Final Dime: Mavericks 102, Cavaliers 95

Anderson Varejao finished with 13 points in Sunday's loss to Dallas. Glenn James NBAE/Getty Images

But Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden picked up the slack – combining for 34 points in place of the Mavs’ All-Star – as Dallas snapped the Cavaliers’ five-game win streak, 102-95, on Sunday night in the Big D.

The efficient Mavericks – who shot 95 percent from the stripe and turned the ball over just six times – never trailed in the second half. Daniel Gibson’s layup brought Cleveland to within a point, 84-83, but that’s as good as it would get for the Cavaliers. Jason Kidd’s three-pointer moments later put Dallas back up by eight, and essentially sent Cleveland to the showers.

“Our pick-and-roll defense was not good in the second half tonight, to say the least, and I thought that was a big advantage for Dallas in the ballgame,” lamented Mike Brown.

LeBron James led everyone with 25 points – going 9-for-23 from the floor with six assists, three boards, two steals and a pair of blocks.

“They’ve got guys – even without Dirk – that are All Stars on their team,” said James. “Josh Howard, J-Kidd and Jason Terry, and the rest of those guys. Tim Thomas played great tonight. Guys stepped up.”

Delonte West followed up with 18 points, scoring 14 in the second half and bringing some much-needed energy off the bench. West was a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe with seven boards and four assists.

Anderson Varejao had another solid outing with 13 points and eight boards. Anthony Parker rounded out the Cavaliers in double-digits – notching 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Tim Thomas led the Mavericks with 22 points, but it was Dallas’ reserves that did most of the damage, with all three players off Rick Carlisle’s bench – Gooden, Jason Terry and Josh Howard – each netting double-figures and combining for 45 points.

After the loss, the Wine and Gold head west, where they’ll play the second half of a back-to-back against the Suns on Monday night in Phoenix.

2. With the loss, the Cavaliers have their winning streak against the Mavericks snapped at four games.

3. The Cavs could’ve used an extra point on Sunday. Since 2008-09, when the Cavaliers score more than 96 points they have the league’s best mark at a jaw-dropping 71-3 (.959). The NBA’s next-best team is the Lakers at 80-10.

4. The Cavaliers bench has now scored over 30 points in nine of their last 12 outings. On Sunday, the Cavaliers reserves combined for 41 points – a combined 31 from Varejao and West.

5. LeBron is third among active NBA players in triple-doubles with 25 – (four behind the Suns’ Grant Hill). LeBron only needs 78 more to catch Mavericks’ guard, Jason Kidd, who’s gone 3x2 an astounding 103 times.

6. Even with Sunday’s loss, the Cavaliers are still the top team in the East against Western Conference foes with a record of 33-7 over the past two seasons.

7. Sunday marked LeBron James’ 500th career game. (A win on Sunday would have made his career mark as a Cavalier an even 300-200.) The young King is just the second player in NBA history with 13,750 points, 3.500 boards, 2,250 assists through first 500 – joining Oscar Robertson.

8. After notching double-figures in five of the first eight games J.J. Hickson’s started, he’s hit a “sophomore wall” recently – averaging just 5.2 ppg over his last seven. Mike Brown has confidence the young gun can work through it.

“He’s just got to play through it,” said Brown. “He’s a terrific talent; he has the ability to be a very good player in this league. Even though he’s a young guy and he’s learning on the job, he brings a lot with his length and his athleticism and his talent. And in the same breath, we’ll be patient with him and we’ll let him grow as much as he can.”

9. Jamario Moon was inactive for Sunday night’s affair with a strained abdominal muscle. Rookie Danny Green was activated in his place but didn’t see action.

10. Drew Gooden was fired up for his former mates. Cleveland’s starting forward from their Finals 2007 team has played 24 games for the Mavericks, averaging 7.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. On Sunday night, Gooden finished with 12 points, eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.