Mavericks Pull Away Late

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Size matters in the NBA, and on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Mavericks had too much of it for the Wine & Gold, who dropped the 131-111 decision for their first home loss of the season.

Between their 6-7 playmaker, Luka Doncic, their smooth shooting 7-3 forward, Kristaps Porzingis, and backup center Boban Marjanovic, who’s simply massive, the Mavericks dominated the Cavaliers down low – outscoring them, 52-28, in the paint and leading Dallas to a fourth-quarter surge that put the contest out of sight late.

Doncic, the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year, was outstanding on Sunday – posting his second straight triple-double with 29 points, 14 boards and 15 assists, one more than the Cavaliers’ starting lineup combined.

Kevin Love got Cleveland off to a strong start – notching 16 of his 29 points in the first period. But he was forced to contend with Porzingis and Marjanovic all night, and it took its toll over the final three quarters. Love added eight boards and a pair of assists as his streak of double-doubles to start the season ended at five.

Jordan Clarkson followed up with 17 points off the bench – going 5-of-10 from deep, 6-of-11 from the floor overall.

Tristan Thompson, who had his double-double streak snapped at four on Friday night in Indy, picked it back up on Sunday – finishing with 11 points, a team-high 12 boards and four assists.

Cedi Osman, Collin Sexton and Brandon Knight – getting his longest run of the year – all finished with 10 points in the loss. Rookie Darius Garland led the team with five assists.

Following a nice block by Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. carried the ball up the court before finishing the fast-break with a two-handed jam.

Through the first three quarters of Sunday’s contest, it was a back-and-forth affair – with seven ties and eight lead-changes heading into the final period. Cleveland was down just four, 90-86, at that point.

But Dallas hit the afterburners in the fourth, opening with a 14-2 run to start the final 12 minutes and pulling away from there.

In that fourth quarter alone, the Mavericks outscored Cleveland, 41-25 – including a 20-8 advantage in the paint – handing out 12 assists to the Cavaliers’ four while shooting a gaudy 62 percent from the floor.

17.2, .540, .423 … Jordan Clarkson’s scoring average, shooting percentage from the floor and beyond the arc over his last five games after going 2-for-12 from the field and 0-of-5 from long-range in the opener against Orlando.

In 87 games spanning the last two seasons, Clarkson has failed to score double-figures in just 10 of them.

Kevin Love, on Dallas’ size on the inside …

"Oh my God, I mean Boban (Marjanovic) caught the ball one time and I thought he was going to pass it out when I checked him, but he just shot it over me. That was crazy. He’s super talented.”

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and 87.7 La Mega's Rafa Hernandez-Brito.

The Cavaliers stay home for their next matchup before getting back on the road – welcoming Kemba Walker and the Celtics to town for the first time this season.

The Wine & Gold then take flight – traveling to Washington on Friday night, taking on the Knicks in New York on Sunday before wrapping up against Joel Embiid and the Sixers next Tuesday.