The Cleveland
Cavaliers registered their biggest win of the season so far, defeating the
Dallas Mavericks 114-96 at the American Airlines Center on Monday. The
Cavaliers led by 31 points midway through the fourth quarter when the scoreboard
read 104-73, but a late rally spared Dallas some of their blushes.

Cleveland’s
Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen scored 28 and 24 points respectively, their best
returns of the season so far, while Darius Garland added 18 points. Allen also
registered 14 rebounds and three assists, while Markkanen had eight rebounds
and two assists.

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“We’re
playing how we want to play,” Allen said in his post-match comments. “We’re
playing with the aggressiveness, the assertiveness that we want to play with,
and it’s just setting the tone.” Allen, 23, was a first-round pick in 2017 after
spending a season at Texas.

Dallas’
maverick guard Luca Doncic posted his second triple double of the season with 25
points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Slovenian made seven out of 11
three-points, his best return of the season, while the rest of the Dallas side managed
just four of 28 attempts from behind the arc.

“Obviously,
Jarrett Allen was the key to their win,” Doncic said. “Their whole team played
great, but we’ve got to control our emotions. We’ve got to be better on
defense.”

Maxi Kleber
scored 13 points off the bench for Dallas, matching a season record as Dallas
lost the fifth of their last six games. Kristaps Porzingis, who had to withdraw
midway through the second half with a right ankle sprain, had nine points, five
rebounds and four blocks.

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Dallas
coach Jason Kidd said his side’s poor shooting was the main reason for their
loss.

“When we
don’t make shots, we tend to feel bad or feel sorry for ourselves,” Kidd said. “The
opposing team is not going to wait for us to get back on defense. Our
transition defense has stunk here of late because we’re not making shots.”

Dallas
dropped into fifth place in the West, one-half game behind the Los Angeles
Clippers. Cleveland moved into a three-way tie for eighth place in the Eastern
Conference.

The
Cavaliers will take on Miami on Wednesday, while the Mavericks travel to New
Orleans.  

(With inputs from the Associated Press)