Even with an off night from Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs improved to 30-4 on the season and completed a four-game sweep in their western trip.
In Dallas, the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to nine games by defeating the short-handed Mavericks 134-122, with Evan Mobley standing out with 34 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers, leading in the NBA with a 30-4 record, completed a successful four-game road trip in the Western Conference and maintained a perfect 10-0 record against Western Conference teams. Impressively, all nine victories during this streak have been achieved with double-digit leads.
The Mavericks were notably missing their two All-Star guards, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, for the game. Irving was absent due to illness, while Doncic has been out of action since sustaining a calf injury during a game against Minnesota on Christmas Day.
Caris LeVert scored 17 off the bench for Cleveland.
Quentin Grimes scored 26 points, 20 in the third period, to lead the Mavericks, who have lost four straight to match a season long losing streak. Jaden Hardy added 17 off the bench and Klay Thompson scored 16, all in the first half.
The Cavaliers used a 20-point run to go from a 21-17 deficit late in the first period to a 37-21 lead early in the second. Their largest lead was 27 points.
Takeaways
Cavaliers: Six players have averaged double figures in scoring this season. They had seven in this game.
Mavericks: The defending West champions went into Christmas Day 4 1/2 games behind first-place Oklahoma City and now trail by 9 1/2.
Key moment
Back-to-back 3s by Thompson pulled the Mavericks within 64-53 with 44 seconds left in the half. But the Cavaliers closed with five straight points, LeVert getting a friendly bounce on a left-corner 3 with four seconds left, to lead 69-53 at halftime.
Key stat
The Cavaliers outscored the Mavericks 18-0 in first-half turnover points and matched a season low with eight overall, two in the first half.
Up next
The Cavaliers will host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. The Mavericks visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
