Cavaliers' 20-0 Run Buries Mavericks Despite Grimes' Big Night: 'We Just Got to Hold It Down'

Cavaliers' 20-0 run sinks Mavericks despite Quentin Grimes' 26-point effort. Grimes says, "We just got to hold it down" as Dallas battles through injuries.

Photo: Nick White of DallasHoopsJournal.com

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks (20-15) have now lost four consecutive games as the Cleveland Cavaliers (30-4) rolled to a 134-122 victory on Friday night at American Airlines Center. Cleveland extended its winning streak to nine, matching the best 34-game start since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.

The Mavericks already knew they would be without Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Danté Exum (right wrist surgery), and Naji Marshall (illness) entering this game. Coming off a 1-3 road trip, the Mavericks already faced the tall task of taking down the NBA's hottest team without their best player,

However, while P.J. Washington (right knee sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right oblique strain) were upgraded from questionable to available, a late development occurred regarding Kyrie Irving—ruling him out with illness just hours before tipoff after previously not being on the injury report. Washington contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while Kleber scored two points and grabbed four boards.

"It's tough," Quentin Grimes said. "We know how good we are at full strength. We just got to hold it down however long Luka's out or Kai's out. We get Naji back, so that will be a big help. We just got to come together everytime on the court."

Irving is the latest Mavericks player to be ruled out due to illness. The team has lost 11 games due to illness regarding player availability. He became the sixth player to miss at least one game with an illness. Dallas leads the NBA in both figures, with illness challenges lingering since November.

"It's tough. It's in the locker room," Kidd said. "Some of the coaches are dealing with it, too. So it's just part of the time of year. People are getting sick and we're spending a lot of time with one another on the plane or at practice. All you can do is try to prevent it, stay away from each other as much as possible, but unfortunately on the road, we're on that plane and spending a lot of time together."

After the initial success in getting by without Dončić during previous injury stints this season, the Mavericks started 7-2 in games he doesn’t play but have since lost four consecutive games without him. Dallas has to potentially get by without at least most of January since he was set to be re-evaluated “within one month” of a Dec. 27 injury announcement.

Early Battle and Cavaliers' Surge