Preview: Mavericks (14-10) at Cavaliers (8-13)

Earl K. Sneed reports from Cleveland and previews the Dallas Mavericks' Saturday night matchup against rookie standout Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was the kind of game the Dallas Mavericks have been waiting to see from leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki all season. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, however, it came in a losing effort.

Nowitzki’s season-high 30 points on 12-of-17 from the field and seven rebounds wasn’t enough to help the Mavs avoid their second straight loss, falling at home in back-to-back games for the first time since starting the season 0-2. And after Friday night’s performance by Nowitzki should have been the main headline but wasn’t thanks to a 98-87 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, the Mavericks (14-10) head into Cleveland one night later for a battle with Rookie of the Year favorite Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers.

Bouncing back from a 2-for-15 night against Oklahoma City and showing that his four-game hiatus from the court during the month of January was beneficial, Nowitzki displayed the same form that led the Mavericks to the NBA championship with him named Finals MVP last June. And with a sore right knee no longer an issue for the 10-time All-Star, the Mavs hope to continue to lean on their go-to player as the season continues.

“Every day he’s moving better,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki’s progress. “At some point, this kind of game was going to be a reality. It was great to see because he was doing everything; he was shooting the ball, he was driving the ball, rebounding. Overall, he was very active and very positive.”

Nowitzki’s season average of just 16.9 points pales in comparison to his career mark of 22.8 points per game. But even with the 7-footer scorching the net for a 20-point first half on 9-of-11 shooting, the Mavericks weren’t able to sustain a high level of play, falling to 1-5 this season when Nowitzki scores at least 20 points.

“I’ve never liked big numbers in a loss,” Nowitzki said. “I’ve had 50 before and we lost, and it doesn’t mean anything. To me it’s good to know the leg strength is coming back, but like I said, it doesn’t mean anything in a loss.”

According to Nowitzki and his teammates, the loss of point guard Jason Kidd can receive plenty of credit for Friday night’s loss as the Mavs played their fourth straight contest without the future Hall of Famer. With no timetable set for Kidd’s return from a strained right calf, however, the defending champs recognize that they can’t sit around and complain, looking to improve upon their play against a Cavaliers squad that has dropped three straight to Dallas.

“We go 10, 15 minutes without [Nowitzki] touching the ball. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense, but it’s something we’re gonna have to figure out without Jason Kidd, who’s usually good at figuring out who’s hot and who’s not,” reserve guard Jason Terry explained. “We’re gonna have to figure out what we have to do to make sure people stay in rhythm. And I just think there was a stretch where we could have taken advantage of Dirk while he was on the floor and we didn’t do it [Friday night]. That hurt us.”

Now, against Irving and the Cavaliers, who have also dropped back-to-back outings, the Mavericks will try to get back on track during a split up stretch of three straight games on the road that won’t reconvene until next Wednesday in Denver.

“We’re gonna need everybody to contribute [Saturday] and play a lot better than we did [Friday night],” Nowitzki said while looking ahead. “Set the tone defensively. … We’ve got a three-day break (after Saturday), which is the longest we’ve had this season. So, we definitely don’t want to go into that sitting on a three-game losing streak. We consider it a very big game and that’s how we’ve gotta come out.”

“This season is rife with ironies,” Carlisle added. “The thing is we’ve just got to keep moving and we’ve got to keep working to help each other to get better. There’s going to be some frustration in games like [Friday night], but we’ve just got to keep our eye on the ball and keep concentrating on the fundamentals that are important for us; being solid on defense, not turning the ball over, stepping into shots, being aggressive. As it goes along, we’ll get better as a basketball team, but the last two games have been tough.”

Note: The Mavs return to action with the second matchup of a back-to-back on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.