The Dallas Mavericks looked as though they were on the verge of netting their third win in a row Wednesday night versus the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. Although the Mavs still did not have Kyrie Irving, the Cavs were also missing their top two scorers in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Cleveland also rolled without Evan Mobley. Not only that but the Mavs were up by 15 points by the end of the second quarter.
But the Mavs simply could not take care of their significant lead, as the Cavaliers chipped away on the deficit and rode a big fourth quarter to score a 113-110 come-from-behind victory. For Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, it went down to Dallas simply being unable to get the timely buckets his team needed to quell the visiting team's uprising.
“We played bad… we missed a lot of good shots. That was on me in the fourth quarter,” Doncic played after the game (h/t Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life). Doncic also mentioned the rebounding difference in Cleveland's favor as a key reason for Dallas' downfall.
The Mavericks were massively outrebounded by the Cavs, 57-37. No one from Dallas could seem to solve Jarrett Allen around the rim, as the Cavs big man went off for a monster double-double of 24 points and 23 rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Doncic, meanwhile, led the Mavs with 39 points on 14/29 shooting from the field.
That loss hurts for the Mavericks considering how well lined up that game was for them to win it. Nevertheless, they will have to move on from that as they have the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting them on Thursday.