King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Had Trouble Missing the Basket Against the Mavericks. James scored 25 points and Cleveland shot 57.7 percent for the game. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)When Anderson Varejao scores 13 points in a single half and makes all seven of his attempts for the floor, you know your in for a long night against the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-5). The Dallas Mavericks (12-5), who came into the game the second best road team in the NBA (7-2), were dominated throughout as they allowed Cleveland to score at will from the very start. Varejeo finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Cavaliers had 10 layup or dunks in the first quarter, scoring 35 points in the period, which was a precursor for the rest of a game in which Cleveland ended with 54 points in the paint compared to Dallas' 24. Cleveland shot 68 percent for the first half and scored a season high 68 points. Dallas never led after that, only getting the deficit down to seven points once in the third quarter.
When Cleveland wasn't scoring-at-will on the inside, they were on-fire from beyond the arc. The Cavs hit 9 of 13 three-pointers for the game and Moe Williams was 7 for 7 as he led the team (along with the King) with 25 points.
Speaking of Lebron, King James had 11 points, four rebounds and eight assists in the first quarter. James finished the game with 25 points, 12 assists and only five rebounds, frankly, because Cleveland didn't miss much.
When the Cavaliers did miss, they dominated the Mavericks on the boards. Cleveland out-rebounded Dallas 39-24 for the game. In fact, Cleveland beat Dallas in every meaningful statistical category, except for free-throw percentage (wooohooo!).
Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 and Jason Terry had 25, but that was about it for a Dallas team that was down for the majority of the first half and the entire second half. The Mavericks waved the white flag with 2:30 left in the 4th quarter, down by 15.
Hate him or love him, there is no doubt in my mind that a healthy Erick Dampier would have made a huge difference in the outcome of this game. While Dallas has been able to win without the big man (Dallas is 6-1 with Damp out of the line-up), its hard to argue that teams have been able to get to the paint at will against the smaller Drew Gooden.
Dallas has now lost four straight against Cleveland, their next meeting is Dec. 20 at the AAC.
The Mavericks' next game is 7:30 p.m. Monday, at home, against the Philadelphia 76ers.
With Mo Williams open all night long for uncontested 3's, it seemed odd to only give Roddy 9 minutes total. Why not try the kid out a little more in a game that was never really close?
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