Cleveland Cavaliers continue impressive start with win over
Dallas Mavericks
The Cleveland Cavaliers, entering their first season in seven years without two-time reigning MVP LeBron James, are off to a solid start in NBA pre-season play, defeating the Dallas Mavericks
85-79 last night in Dallas.
The Cavaliers, winners of three of their first four games, handed the Mavericks their second loss in a row, dropping their pre-season record to 1-3.
Cleveland point guard Daniel Gibson, starting in place of injured Mo Williams, led all scorers with 15 points. The Cavaliers also got 14 points from Manny Harris and 12 from Ramon Sessions.
Both coaches generously spread out playing time, with the Mavericks playing 14 players while the Cavaliers got 13 players into the game. For Dallas, they wanted to keep their players fresh.
“The key thing tonight was to keep the minutes relatively reasonable because we've got practice tomorrow,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “During this stretch where we've got six games
in 12 days, the challenge is to make those in between game days productive. So we've got to have a productive day of practice tomorrow.”
Carlisle returned to coaching three days after collapsing at a team practice on Friday. In what he called a “fainting spell,” Carlisle was forced to miss his team’s outdoor game against
the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. After a restful weekend, Carlisle, 50, returned to his team’s shootaround yesterday, saying that he remains in good health.
Last night’s game was close the entire way. The Mavericks were up 46-45 after two quarters with both teams tied at 62 apiece heading into the final quarter. Cleveland forward Leon Powe
scored a driving lay-up with 2:56 remaining, putting his team up 79-77. They would hold on down the stretch for the six-point victory.
Cleveland coach Byron Scott, hired this off-season, said his team, which includes many new faces, still needs to find some more chemistry on the court.
“Another good road win for us against a great basketball team,” he said. “Obviously it’s still the pre-season but we’re still learning and still in the process of getting to know each
other a little bit.”
Scott was encouraged by the play of first-year player Harris, who has played consistent basketball his first few games. He played a well-rounded game last night, adding in four rebounds,
four assists, and three steals.
“He did a heck of a job and made some plays for us down the stretch and did a really good job defensively of just locking people down and doing some things that we’ve talked about doing,”
Scott said of Harris.
In a game where every Dallas player managed to score, All-Star Dirk Nowitzki led his team with 13 points in 26 minutes.
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