Dribbles: Cavs Roll All Over Shorthanded And Shellshocked Mavs

February 2, 2025

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 144-101 home rout of what’s left of the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. …

1. If you ever wondered what it might look like if an NBA team played a G League team, well, this should give you a pretty good idea.

2. Score at the end of the first quarter: Cavaliers 50, Mavericks 19. It would only get worse for poor Dallas from there.

3. Eventually, that lead would swell to 91-46 at halftime. Yeah. Ninety-one points in one half. That’s a Cavaliers franchise record for half. Same with the 50 points in the first, for what it’s worth.

4. And if you ask coach Kenny Atkinson, it’s not worth much. “Not really,” he said. “I will say it can help build confidence as a team.”

5. Along with those scoring records, the Cavs buried 26 3-pointers. You guessed it — also a franchise mark.

6. Sam Merrill, who has struggled with his outside shot all season, used this semi-practice game to rediscover his stroke. He led the way with 9-of-13 shooting on threes, finishing with a game-high 27 points.

7. Atkinson on the importance of Merrill getting going from the outside: “It’s important for him. I mean, his defensive numbers have been really good. Tonight was just icing on the cake. We all knew it was coming.”

8. Overall, the Cavs (40-9) had eight players in double figures and could’ve had more. Evan Mobley scored 22 with 11 rebounds, Darius Garland went for 17 points and 10 assists, and Jarrett Allen scored 14 on 6-of-8 shooting. Garland was also 6-of-8 shooting, and Mobley swatted four shots.

9. Georges Niang added 13 points, Donovan Mitchell had 12 and Caris LeVert (wrist) returned from a seven-game absence to tack on 10.

10. All of that said, the Cavs weren’t really the story on this day. They were facing a decimated Mavs team that was likely still dealing with the stunning trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

11. The main man they got in return, Anthony Davis, was nowhere to be found. Neither were the injured Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford or P.J. Washington — or really, anyone on that team you might know.

12. Actually, I take that back. Dallas did have Klay Thompson (remember him?), but he could only will himself to two points on 1-of-10 shooting, including 0-of-6 on threes. The days of splashing triples, it seems, are ancient history.

13. Atkinson commented on the big Mavs-Lakers trade before the game. “Nothing surprises me anymore,” he said.

14. Afterward, he suggested he’s incredibly thankful that he took over a team with all of its main men returning for another run. “You see the way we move the ball?” he asked. “Everyone says it’s the offense or (the coach). It’s not that. It’s continuity.”

15. Mobley on the Lakers-Mavs trade: “I didn’t find out about it until I woke up this morning. I was like, ‘What? Is this real?'”

16. Welcome to the club, Evan. From the sounds of things, Doncic and Davis thought the same thing.

17. All of this led to a question of what the Cavs may do with the NBA trade deadline set for Thursday at 3 p.m. EST. “I’m focused on this team,” Atkinson said. “What comes across our radar (in terms of offers), I think it depends on that.”

18. The Mavs (26-24) are certainly still in the playoff race, and they’re not far off from where they were last season when they reached the Finals. But seeing this team without Doncic, and with Davis … well, it’ll just be odd.

19. As for the Cavaliers, they have bigger things on the docket with a home game Tuesday against the defending champion Boston Celtics. So it probably helps that they led this one by 53 and got to rest some starters. “These wins help your gas tank,” Atkinson said.