Cavs Clobber Mavericks in Dallas

At the end of the year, Monday’s win will count the same as any other. But it was a little more than that – with the Cavaliers clobbering a team that had mauled them over the past three seasons while knocking off another Western Conference Playoff team in their own gym.

The feisty young Cavaliers won their second straight overall, drubbing a Mavericks team that had beaten them by an average of 27 points over the last four meetings – opening up a big third-quarter lead and never looking back, taking the 114-96 decision at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The Cavaliers held the Mavericks to just 18 points in the second period and led by 11 at the break. After intermission, Cleveland really hit the gas – shooting 68 percent from the floor and going 5-of-7 from long-range, dominating Dallas in the paint and on the boards and doubling their lead after three quarters.

The Wine & Gold would eventually extend their edge to 31 in the final quarter before both coaches began emptying their benches with just over four minutes to go.

Cleveland – which notched its second straight double-digit win after dropping five straight – was led again by its big lineup, notably Jarrett Allen, who continued his torrid pace on Monday night.

¬The 5th-year man from Texas led everyone with a career-high 28 points, going 12-for-17 from the floor, leading both teams with 14 boards to go with three assists and a block.

Lauri Markkanen has been almost as hot of late – netting his third 20-point game in the last four outings since returning from a nine-game absence – finishing with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-9 from long-distance, to go with eight boards and a pair of assists.

Darius Garland, who connected repeatedly with Allen on the alley-oop, added 18 points of his own, going 7-of-13 from the field, leading Cleveland with nine assists in the win.

Evan Mobley chipped in with 12 points and seven boards, going 5-of-10 from the floor to go with seven boards, two assists, a steal and two of Cleveland’s four blocks.

Isaac Okoro and Kevin Love finished with 10 points apiece on Monday. Okoro was an efficient from the floor – going 4-of-6 – as was Love – who was 3-of-4, drilling both triples he attempted.

Ricky Rubio finished with seven points, seven boards and six assists.

Luka Doncic tallied the 38th triple-double of his already-decorated career – leading Dallas with 25 points, 10 boards and 10 assists – but he didn’t get much help. Dorian Finney-Smith added 14 points; Maxi Kleber pitched in with 13 off the bench.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Isaac Okoro uses a screen to get around his defender on his way to the hoop, where he throws down a strong, two-handed jam early in the game against Dallas.

The Cavaliers held Dallas to just 36 percent shooting in the first half and led by 11 at the break. But when the Mavericks scored the first four points of the second half, J.B. Bickerstaff called timeout with just 75 seconds elapsed in the period.

Jarrett Allen scored on a three-point play on Cleveland’s next possession to give the Cavs another double-digit lead, keying a 30-13 run that put the Wine and Gold up 22 and firmly in the driver’s seat.

By the 7:31 mark of the fourth quarter, the Cavs opened their lead to 31 points on Lauri Markkanen’s layup, essentially sealing the deal in Dallas.

By the Numbers - 23.0, 12.8 … scoring and rebounding averages for Jarrett Allen over the last four games after returning from a three-game absence.

Allen has doubled-up in all four games over that stretch – while shooting .706 from the floor and averaging 2.5 assists – and has tallied double-doubles in nine of his last 11 outings. Only Rudy Gobert is shooting a better field goal percentage in the NBA than Allen, who’s at .698 on the season.

Darius Garland, praising the Wine & Gold’s big frontline …

"They hold it down for us every night – from every standpoint, in the paint, for the guards. Everything. They see everything on the defensive end. They fight every night. And they’re great on the offensive end. They roll, they set really good screens. We really appreciate them."

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

After breaking their recent run of bad luck in Dallas, the Wine & Gold travel to what’s been a house of horrors lately – taking on the Heat in Miami, where they’ll try to snap a 20-game losing streak on South Beach.

After opening the month of December in south Florida, the Cavaliers close out the three-game roadie on Friday night, looking for a measure of revenge against the Wizards in D.C. They return home for a Sunday after showdown with the Jazz at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – the first half of a back-to-back, traveling to Milwaukee on Monday.