Field Level Media
Mar 16, 2019
Tim Hardaway Jr. led seven players in double figures with 22 points Saturday night, helping the Dallas Mavericks run off to a big lead before holding on for a 121-116 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
In snapping a seven-game losing streak, the Mavericks completed a two-game, season-series sweep of the Cavaliers. Dallas won 111-98 at Cleveland last month.
As they had in the earlier meeting, when they bombed in 16 3-pointers, the Mavericks overpowered the Cavaliers from the perimeter, shooting 16-for-35 on 3-pointers.
Hardaway had 12 of his 22 points on four 3-pointers, while Dorian Finney-Smith also dropped in four treys to account for a majority of his 14 points.
Dallas led by as many as 21 in the first half, but found itself in a 70-66 game after Cleveland rookie Collin Sexton, the game's leading scorer with 28 points, connected on a 3-pointer with 10:12 remaining in the third period.
Jalen Brunson countered with a trey, and then he added another in a Mavericks burst that produced an 89-74 lead at the 4:24 mark.
The Cavaliers chipped away at the deficit in the final period, holding the Mavericks scoreless for 3:10 as they closed from 119-107 to 119-116 on a hoop by Sexton with 5.3 seconds left.
But Cleveland had to foul, and Devin Harris sank two game-clinching free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining to account for the final margin of victory.
Maxi Kleber finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who snapped a three-game home losing streak in the opener of a two-game homestand.
Brunson finished with a team-high seven assists to go with 16 points for Dallas, while Dwight Powell also scored 16, Dirk Nowitzki 14 and Trey Burke 11.
Dallas shot 51.1 percent for the game.
Kevin Love had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who went winless on a three-game road trip.
Cedi Osman (22 points), Jordan Clarkson (17) and Ante Zizic (11) also scored in double figures for Cleveland, which countered the Mavericks' 16 3-pointers with 15 of its own.
The defeat extended the Cavaliers' road losing streak to five games.
--Field Level Media