Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said, “I believe that defense wins championships,” when speaking on the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. The Mavericks are playing their first game post-Doncic against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, and defense was nowhere to be found as Cleveland torched Dallas for 50 points in the first quarter.

Going up against the Cavaliers is a tough ask after trading away your best player, but it was a very rough start for the Mavericks. Darius Garland led the way with 13 points in the frame for Cleveland, while Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Max Strus, Georges Niang and Ty Gerome all contributed as well.

For the Mavericks, they scored just 19 points. Dante Exum had the most with five, while Kylor Kelly scored four. Oliver-Maxence Prosper, Spencer Dinwiddie, Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall and Jaden Hardy also scored. Obviously, it was not near enough to keep pace with Cleveland.

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It did not get much better in the second quarter for the Mavericks, as they were outscored 41-27 in the frame to go down 91-46 at halftime. Garland, Mitchell, Mobley and Sam Merrill all scored in the double figures in the first half. Exum was the only one to do so for the Mavericks.

It should be noted that Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford were all ruled out for the game, so it would have been a huge shock if the Mavericks came out and won this game. Still, it is a tough couple of days for the Mavericks fans who are not supportive of this trade.

After this matchup with the Cavaliers, the Mavericks will prepare to play the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Tuesday before another tough road game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday. It will be interesting to see if Davis and Max Christie are able to join the team soon, and if the results improve as a result.