Can Luka Doncic's Mavs Bounce Back, Avenge 20-Point Blown Lead vs. Cavs?

The Dallas Mavericks will attempt to bounce back from their streak-breaking loss to the Indiana Pacers as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their second game of a tough four-game road trip on Tuesday.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 27, 2024

Can Luka Doncic's Mavs Bounce Back, Avenge 20-Point Blown Lead vs. Cavs? /

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The Dallas Mavericks were a different team the last time they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers back on Dec. 27. Not only was that before Dallas' trades for P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, but star point guard Kyrie Irving didn't play in that game either as the Mavs only scored 41 second-half points en route to blowing a 20-point lead and losing 113-100.

On Tuesday night, the Mavs will attempt to avenge that loss from earlier in the season as they take on the Cavs in what will be their second game of a tough four-game road trip. Dallas, after winning seven consecutive games, is coming off a 133-111 humbling loss to the Indiana Pacers, so there will be plenty of motivation in this one.

USATSI_22182252 — Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Irving's return to Cleveland, the city he helped bring a championship to alongside LeBron James, will be a big storyline in this one, but also, we should keep an eye on what Luka Doncic is able to accomplish, given that Cleveland has the largest Slovenian population outside of Slovenia. Doncic has missed the last two games the Mavs played in Cleveland, so we would expect him to put on a show for his countrymen.

The Cavs have played some stellar basketball since the turn of the calendar year, as they won 17 out of 18 games from Jan. 3 through Feb. 10 while climbing to second-place in the Eastern Conference. However, they've had some hiccups since then, going just 2-3 over their last five games with the two wins coming against the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.

Mavs' Streak-Breaking Loss to Pacers Reveals Team's Biggest Flaw

If the Mavs bring the correct energy and effort following an embarrassing blowout loss to the Pacers, expect them to bounce back into the win column ... and perhaps move up a spot or two in the Western Conference depending on how the rest of tonight's games go. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for extensive postgame coverage.

Published Feb 27, 2024

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.