Luka Doncic's Mavs Lose to Undermanned Cavs Despite 20-Point Lead

The Mavs failed to defeat the undermanned Cavs despite holding a lead as large as 20 points amid a big performance from Luka Doncic.

DALLAS — After an exhilarating Christmas Day victory over the Phoenix Suns on the road, the Dallas Mavericks dropped a 113-110 loss to an undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers team despite leading by as many as 20 points. After losing on the first night of a back-to-back, the Mavs dropped to 18-13, while the Cavs improved to 18-13.

Both teams played without various vital players, with the Cavs not having Donovan Mitchell (illness), Darius Garland (jaw fracture), or Evan Mobley (left knee surgery) in the lineup. Dallas continued to play without Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion) and Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) but regained Josh Green after a 12-game absence. 

Early in the game, the Cavs mixed up how they handled defensive coverages, ranging from playing a drop to switching. Midway through the first quarter, the Mavs deployed a small ball unit with Grant Williams at the five with Allen still on the floor. Doncic hunted mismatches often with the ability to space out at all positions, maximizing his spacing. Cleveland ultimately mixed up its coverages throughout the night. 

"All the different defensive twists and turns that people can throw at him, you watch it, and as the game goes on, no matter what you do to him, he seems to figure it out," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "So, it's a guy that you have to mix up what you're doing. It's picking your poison, so to speak. Is he a score? Is he a facilitator? Because you can't allow him to be both."

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A step-back 3-pointer from Doncic put the Mavs by a 10-point margin (29-19) for the first time at the 2:48 mark of the opening period. Without Mobley available, the Cavs deployed a small ball group when Allen went to the bench, with the base strategy being to switch everything, which Doncic capitalized on to score. He reached the 20-point threshold before the end of the opening period. 

Seth Curry provided a significant spark early on, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, including a pair of made 3-pointers. The Mavs led 39-27 when the first quarter ended.  With Doncic on the bench early in the second period, the Mavs' second unit continued to build momentum with Exum initiating the offense, along with Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., Curry, and Dwight Powell, building a 20-point advantage.

"You look at what Luka was doing. He was getting to the basket and making his 3," Kidd said. "Again, give them credit; they took everybody else away and let him score. With that being said, we've got to be able to knock down shots, but we've got to be able to get stops. In the end, we didn't get a good look — the look that we wanted. We've got to be better late in the game."

Leading by 17 points when Doncic and Lively checked back in with over seven minutes left before halftime, the Mavs experienced some slippage, calling a timeout with 6:10 left in the second quarter after the lead was cut to 13 points. With Isaac Okoro aggressively picking up Doncic full-court, Dallas began playing out of Stack pick-and-roll to open the floor for him to attack. The Mavs also deployed Doncic as a screener to create opportunities for others to attack, knowing Okoro would faceguard him and not look to switch or hedge.

The Cavs rallied back to be down just seven points with under four minutes left in the second quarter. The Mavs responded with Doncic taking control of the game, generating paint touches that led to favorable looks and extended the lead to 69-54 at halftime. Doncic had already totaled 29 points to this point. 

With the Cavs locking in defensively with doubles against Doncic and flying around the half-court, they managed to cut the deficit to nine points early in the third quarter. However, once again, the Mavs responded by stifling a potential run, with the Slovenian superstar settling things by attacking the paint.

The Mavs went with their small-ball lineup against midway through the third quarter with Allen still on the court. Doncic was often the focus of late double-teams by the Cavs to get the ball out of his hands. Dallas struggled to make plays to counter it, with Allen anchoring the paint. After LeVert converted on a tightly contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, the Cavs came within four points (76-72). 

“Attack the offensive boards. Height is a big advantage on the offensive boards," Allen said. "I think there was one possession where we had five in a row or something. We all were attacking, so we just took advantage of that and tried to get extra shots.”

Curry's hot perimeter shooting continued to factor into improved momentum once again, converting a pair of made 3s late in the third quarter to extend the team's lead back to double figures. The undermanned Cavs squad continued to keep it a close game with gritty defense and dared others to beat them by getting the ball out of Doncic's hands with double teams.

With Doncic on the bench, LeVert brought the Cavs back within five points using a made 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Cleveland never managed to create a run substantial enough to overtake the advantage despite Doncic not checking back into the game until 5:40 left in regulation. 

Even with Doncic back on the floor, the Mavs initially struggled to execute in the half-court offensively, coming up empty on numerous possessions. A turnover from Doncic on a failed pass to Lively resulted in Max Strus finishing on the break, cutting Dallas' advantage to three points (105-102) with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter, which became a 15-0 run down the stretch, setting up a four-point lead (109-105) with 1:39 remaining in regulation. 

“It was kind of a whirlwind. We missed some looks and let that affect our defense a little bit. The momentum just shifted. It felt like momentum was a real thing tonight in the second half. We couldn’t do anything on the offensive end. They were coming down and getting what they wanted offensively. Their plays were working. They were knocking down the shots. We let them back in the game, and then once it was a close game, anything can happen. We didn’t finish it the right way.”

The Mavs failed to convert on open shots in the near three-minute drought to make the Cavs pay. On a few plays, they tried opening up the floor by using double-drag screens for Doncic with Curry deployed in the action, knowing the Cavs would send a late double team. Curry missed on the look. Doncic then tried to switch-hunt Allen by bringing up Williams, who was playing small ball center, as a screener, but Dallas also came up empty. Allen even blocked Doncic on a transition finish at the rim. 

“We played bad," Doncic said. "We missed a lot of good shots - that was on me in the fourth quarter.”

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Despite Doncic attempting to take over scoring down the stretch, LeVert and Allen came up significantly to lead the Cavs, combining 14 points in the final 5:21 of regulation, helping to establish a lead as large as six points at numerous points. 

After Georges Niang missed a pair of free throws, the Mavs had possession after taking a timeout with 8.1 seconds left to play down by three points (113-110). On the final possession, Doncic was double-teamed down by Allen, who left Lively under the basket, knowing the Mavs needed three instead of two points, resulting in Strus blocking Curry on the final shot attempt.

"Yeah, we knew that Luka thrives in those types of moments," LeVert said. "We tried to make it tough for him. [Allen] did a great job of trapping him, and then Max did a great job of contesting Seth Curry's jump shot."

Kidd's perspective was the Mavs failed to set a screen they were supposed to set, but didn't specify where it was supposed to come from or who it was supposed to be for. With Doncic getting double-teamed and Lively being left open under the rim, there wasn't an available relief option from 3-point range to get a clean look after the play failed to create an advantage. 

With Allen punishing both Lively and small ball lineups throughout the night, he racked up 24 points, 23 rebounds (nine offensive boards), and six assists in 35 minutes. LeVert was the leading scorer with 27 points and seven assists. Okoro also scored in double figures, totaling 22 points while converting on four 3-pointers. 

Cleveland had a significant advantage on the boards, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds while being out-rebounded by 20 total boards. The Mavs, who shot 10-37 (27.0 percent) from beyond the arc, couldn't shoot out of being out-executed in the paint as they were also out-produced from deep as Cleveland shot 17-43 (39.5 percent). 

“Just rebounding the ball," Doncic said. "I think the rebounds were a big issue today.”

Doncic ended the night with 39 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but the team's late-game execution proved insufficient despite his substantial performance. Curry ended up with 19 points with five made 3-pointers. Dallas' other double-figure scorers included Tim Hardaway Jr. (14 points), Exum (13 points), and Derrick Jones Jr. (12 points). 

The Mavs return to action on Thursday when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, beginning the first of a three-game Western Conference road trip.