A Cavalier attitude in stunning comeback
Cleveland’s Caris LeVert made the go-ahead threepointer with 2:03 to play as the Cavaliers rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-110 on Thursday.
Elsewhere, two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant delivered his 18th career triple-double to lead the Phoenix Suns to a muchneeded win over the Houston Rockets, and the Philadelphia 76ers downed the Orlando Magic despite the absence of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid.
In Dallas, the Mavericks looked on their way to following up their Christmas victory over Phoenix, as they led by as many as 20 on the way to a 15-point halftime lead.
Luka Doncic scored 39 points for Dallas and Seth Curry added 19 off the bench. But they went stone cold for five minutes in the fourth quarter as the Cavs unleashed a 15-0 scoring run to take a 111-105 lead with 1:13 to play.
LeVert scored 29 points off the bench for Cleveland. Jarrett Allen scored 24 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, and Isaac Okoro added 22 points for the Cavs, who were again without ailing star Donovan Mitchell or the injured Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
A step-back three-pointer from Doncic pulled the Mavs within three points with 17.4 seconds remaining.
But on their final possession, Doncic was caught near midcourt and passed to Curry, whose lastgasp three-pointer was blocked by Max Strus.
“Guts, plain and simple,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of what carried his team to victory. “It was the ability to dig down and go somewhere when things weren’t going your way.”
In Houston, Durant scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and matched his career high with 16 assists to propel the Suns to a 129-113 victory over the Rockets.