Even without perennial All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, The Mavericks came out of the gate on a 12-2 run and we all thought it could get ugly in downtown Cleveland.
Antawn Jamison found his 3 point stroke and the Cavaliers finished the quarter with an 18-6 run of their own and the Mavericks lead was trimmed from 14 to a mere 2 points.
Christian Eyenga made his first appearance early in the 2nd quarter after the team recalled him from the Development League earlier this week. It was good to see his athleticism. Eyenga has improved his defense while also continuing to develop his 3 point shot.
Hopefully in time, he will become a regular in the rotation. While he still needs to learn the nuances and pace of the NBA game, he could prove to be a valuable player of this team.
After a few Mavericks 3 pointers gave the Mavericks a 40-30 lead, Ramon decided it was time to throw down another dunk. Seriously, what has gotten into this guy? At that point in the game, Sessions was 5/6 with 10 points, and two powerful dunks. He's not afraid to be the offensive spark-plug when the time is right.
Fast-forward 30 seconds later, where Christian Eyenga gets his first memorable dunk in a Cavaliers uniform. Mo Williams set him up on a fastbreak, and Eyenga finished with a wild two-handed finish at the rim.
The Mavericks continued their hot shooting from the perimeter and a couple 3's later the lead was back to 15. It shouldn't be a surprise that Ramon Sessions brought the Cavaliers back, with two consecutive layups at the offensive end. He really is starting to turn into our best offensive option at this point in time.
Those baskets cut the lead to 51-42 Mavs, and we weren't done just yet.
We caught a lucky break when a Manny Harris jumper bounced off the rim and in, clearly after the shot clock had expired. The Cavaliers shot 64% in the 2nd quarter, 58% for the half, and the effort was there. Surprisingly we only shot two 3's in the half.
The halftime deficit was 8, and even with our 10 turnovers, we were convinced that we still had a chance.
It seemed like every time the Cavaliers were about ready to make a run, someone on the Mavericks hit a shot to bury our hopes.
After a mindless pass by Eyenga that got picked by Jason Kidd, Mo Williams chased him down and emphatically swatted away a layup attempt.
But soon the Cavs were down 17 and things were looking grim.
After a few solid possessions we cut the lead down to 77-67, and headed into the 4th hoping to turn things around and end the painful losing streak.
The 4th quarter played out like many others this season; the Cavaliers just didn't have what it takes to beat one of the best teams in the NBA. Granted, we were without Varejao, Gibson, and Joey Graham.. but it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference.
With a talented backcourt in Kidd and Terry, to go along with new found post-presence Tyson Chandler, the Cavaliers were simply out manned and dropped their 7th straight in a row. Deshawn Stevenson lit up Quicken Loans Arena for five 3 pointers and 20 points, and led the way for the Dallas. All of the Mavericks starters played well.
Antawn Jamison played an excellent game scoring 35 points on 14/22 shooting, but it's hard to win when you don't get much help elsewhere. Sessions played his heart out and finished with 19, but no other Cavaliers would finish in double digits. Mo Williams looked out of sync, possibly still feeling the effects of his injury. Hopefully this team can put 48 minutes together soon and come out with a win vs. Toronto or Golden State later this week. Cavs fans deserve better than this.
Injury update: Apparently Anderson Varejao fractured a bone in his cheek and could be the next in a long line of Cavalier-greats to wear a face protector mask. Lamond Murray, Vitaly Potapenko, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and #23 all once wore the mask Richard Hamilton has now made famous.
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