The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t slow down Evan Mobley during Friday night’s 138-105 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers at American Airlines Center. Despite only playing 23 minutes, he tied his season high with 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting, and the Cavs quickly pulled away from the Mavs.

Donovan Mitchell added 24 points, including 12 in a 41-point third quarter that proved to be the difference. James Harden totaled 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Cleveland shot 61.5% from the field — the 10th-highest single-game field-goal percentage in franchise history and the first time the Cavaliers had reached that mark since March 21, 1996 — and went 18-of-38 (47.4%) from 3-point range. The Cavaliers have now won seven consecutive games against Dallas.

The loss dropped the Mavericks to 22-45 on the season. The two teams meet again on Sunday in Cleveland.

Cooper Flagg led Dallas with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting, alongside 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Naji Marshall added 17 points and 7 rebounds. Ryan Nembhard finished with 9 assists.

Dallas played without Daniel Gafford, who sat out for rest, and P.J. Washington was unable to play due to left ankle soreness. Klay Thompson returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous game for rest, finishing with three points in 16 minutes off the bench. Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) remain out for the season.

Cleveland ruled out Jarrett Allen (knee tendinitis) and Max Strus (Jones fracture) before the game, along with Tyrese Proctor, who missed the game with a quad strain. The absences did nothing to slow the Cavaliers down, and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd noted how dangerous Cleveland could become once Allen returns to the lineup.

“Well, they’re not healthy right now, but if they get Allen back, I think they’re a contender or a team that could come out of the East,” Kidd said.

Cleveland Cavaliers Dominate From the Opening Tip

Mobley was unstoppable in the first half. He scored 16 points in the first quarter alone and even outscored the Mavericks midway through the period. He finished the first half with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting — the second-highest scoring half of his career behind 28 points against Charlotte on Dec. 7, 2024. It was the fifth time this season he has totaled at least 25 points and 5 rebounds in the same game.

“We talked about Mobley being really good. We talked about how we had to be physical with him, and we weren’t,” Kidd said.

Mitchell picked up where Mobley left off, scoring 10 in the second quarter and 12 more in a third quarter that effectively ended the game. The Cavaliers led 67-50 at halftime and by 35 heading into the fourth.

“Defensively, for us, we couldn’t keep Mitchell in front of us. He split the double team and got to the rim, and he was finishing his layups when he got in the paint. Then he made a three there,” Kidd said. “So both of those guys were very good tonight.”

Cleveland’s field-goal percentage on 56-of-91 shooting placed Friday’s performance in rare company in franchise history. The last Cavaliers team to post comparable floor efficiency did so 30 years ago.

Cooper Flagg Shows Signs of Life in Return From Injury

Flagg, still working his way back to full form after missing three weeks with a left midfoot sprain, showed encouraging signs in what was the second game of a back-to-back. It was his first game scoring at least 20 points since returning from injury — a threshold he hadn’t crossed in five consecutive previous performances. He was efficient from the field and perfect at the free-throw line, and a third-quarter dunk briefly energized the home crowd.

“Just trying to find my rhythm and get back into the swing of things. Trying to pick my moments and be aggressive,” Flagg said. “I thought I played with better pace tonight. I had been a little sped up recently, so it was about getting back to a better pace, drawing contact, getting to the line, getting comfortable. But overall we’ve just got to get better. It’s tough — they knocked down a lot of shots, so you’ve got to give them credit.”

Flagg noted the dunk was a promising indicator that his athleticism is returning. His recent lengthy injury absence was by far the longest he’s missed games in his career. Coming back from that requires building rhythm, and this was a clear step forward in the process for him.

“It was okay. I really feel like I haven’t come back with my pop — my athleticism has been lacking a little bit since I got hurt and came back,” he said. “I finally felt like I was getting my pop back a little bit tonight. I’ve just got to keep getting back into the flow. It’s hard to play so much basketball and then miss three weeks like that. That was tough and different for me. I’ve just got to keep getting my body back into rhythm and finish these last 15 games strong.”

Kidd said he saw a step from his rookie year in the third quarter. However, collectively, Kidd pointed to the physical and mental fatigue his team faced after a six-game road trip that also featured a back-to-back following a game in Memphis the night before.

“I thought you could see Cooper had a step tonight, especially playing last night. I thought the effort was there. Again, I thought his game picked up after his dunk. He started to be a little bit more aggressive,” Kidd said. “I think just for us, it’s tired bodies and tired minds right now.”

Ryan Nembhard Starts at Point Guard

The Mavericks started Nembhard at point guard after previously filling a bench role. He finished with 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists on Friday. However, he only turned it over once despite playing 27 minutes.

Flagg has frequently praised Nembhard for his unselfish approach to the game, as well as his ability to find the open man in time and accurately.

“I love playing with Ryan. I’ve loved playing with Ryan ever since we got here. We came in together — he was on the two-way at first,” Flagg said. “He’s just an unselfish guy and plays the game the right way. Pass-first, looking to spread the ball around the court and find the open man. He just gives the ball a lot of energy. When he’s out there, I feel like everybody’s playing with a little more pep in their step. He just puts a lot of energy into the game.”

Kidd, a former Hall of Fame point guard himself, also praised Nembhard’s impact.

“Again, being able to find the guys,” Kidd said of Nembhard. “He understands how to do that, and he did that well tonight.”

Naji Marshall, Dwight Powell, and Brandon Williams Among Bright Spots

Marshall delivered a bounce-back performance, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He achieved his 34th game this season with at least 15 points, surpassing his previous single-season best of 29 such games in 2024-25.

Dwight Powell appeared in his 750th career game as a member of the Mavericks, becoming the fifth player in franchise history to achieve that milestone. He also achieved his 25th career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Brandon Williams chipped in 12 points off the bench on 3-of-8 shooting, going 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line. He extended his career-best streak of 13 consecutive double-figure scoring performances.

Dallas Mavericks Keys to the Rematch

The Mavericks’ inability to clean up defensive breakdowns in the paint proved to be the defining story of the game. Cleveland created a significant amount of open 3-point shots all night by attacking the rim and forcing the Mavericks’ help defense before making spray-out passes to shooters.

Flagg believes the Mavericks must improve at making their presence felt defensively during Sunday’s rematch in Cleveland. The message was consistent — Dallas was not physical enough in the paint, and the Cavaliers made them pay for it.

“I think a big part of it is just our presence. I don’t think they really felt us out there tonight,” he said. “We’ve got to show more presence and more physicality. They started out killing us in the paint, and that led to a lot of easy spray-out threes. We’ve just got to take pride on that end of the floor and give more presence. It’s got to start there, and I think we can work it out from there.”

Nembhard pointed to the Mavericks’ need to improve their low-man rotations from the weak side, particularly against pick-and-roll actions, as a key area for improvement. He also emphasized better rebounding, turnovers, and better ball movement.

“Defensively, the low man has to be better, taking away the rolls to the rim. That was a problem tonight,” he said. “Rebounding, turnovers, and being a little less stagnant on offense.”

The Mavericks and Cavaliers will play again on Sunday to conclude a two-game mini-series at Rocket Arena. Tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT.

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