Recap: Cavs 127, Mavericks 94 (Or revenge is a dish best served with milk gravy)

The Mavericks absolutely steam rolled the Cavs by 29 in their matchup on January 4th at The Q. It was the low point of the season for me. LeBron was in the middle of his rest sabbatical. The following day Dion Waiters was traded for an injured Iman Shumpert and notorious malcontent J.R. Smith. Since that date the Cavs have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the new acquisitions have proved to be the perfect supporting cast for LeBron, Kyrie and Love. If the next five weeks are a playoff primer, the Cavs will be ready for the final coat come mid-April.

1st Quarter: The bout begins sloppy with the Mavericks Tyson Chandler winning the tip, but it bobbles out of bounce thanks to Dirk being out of position. Kyrie Irving hits a buzzer beating three, off of a broken play to break the scoreless gridlock. The Cavs go on to score the first seven points of the game, then the Mavericks go on a run of their own tallying the following ten. LeBron hops into a time machine all the way back to 2009 and registers a chase down block on a Chandler Parsons, which leads to a two-handed Timofey Mozgov slam off of a missed Love three. A Smith three caps off a 9-0 Cavaliers run, prompting Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle to call a time out. Kevin Love touch passes a cutting James for a layup. Love throws a contested TD pass to Smith, and Smith is called for loose ball foul by being ran over by Chandler. Mark Cuban can’t hate the refs all the time. With LeBron on the pine, the Mavs go on a 11-1 run. An Amar’e Stoudemire offensive rebound and put back forces Blatt to rally the troops. LeBron checks back in and beats Al-Farouq Aminu off the dribble for his 38th and one of the season. Devin Harris burns James Jones for a layup, then Monte Ellis steals a poorly thrown Jones inbound pass for another two. Why is James Jones playing in the first quarter? Mavs 31-26

2nd Quarter: Stoudemire backs off of LeBron on the wing, and LBJ buries a three to begin the second quarter. On the following Cavs possession, Chandler Parsons has trouble getting through a Jones pick and LeBron drills a 25-foot three from the left wing. James passes Mark Price for the Cavs all-time leader in assists with a gorgeous one-handed touch pass to Jones for a corner three. Can we get a #Cavsrank recount now that Florida doesn’t factor into the equation? Kyrie blows by Harris off of a Jones pick for a two-handed dunk. LeBron pulls the string on Austin Carr’s back and throws the hammer down off of another Jones pick. Love jams a Smith misfire and scores on the following possession. Smith drills a pair of threes in the waning minutes of the quarter. Irving scores and converts an and one of his own to push the lead to 14. Cavs 67-53

3rd Quarter: Irving penetration to the paint causes the Dallas defense to collapse and he feeds Smith for his third three of the night. Dirk shows that 36-year-olds can still shoot the long ball with a high-arching three. On the next Cavaliers possession, Dirk shows that 36-year-olds are kind of terrible at defense, as he loses track of Love for a dunk off of a LeBron no look dime. Mozgov converts a transition alley-oop from LeBron. A Love rejection of Stoudemire leads to a Mozgov transition layup at the other end. Mozilla can seriously run the floor. Love abuses Richard Jefferson on the block on three straight possessions. His pump fake is in the running for best in the league. Irving beats J.J. Barea off the dribble for a layup with two seconds remaining in the quarter. Smith steals the Nowitzki inbounds pass, but misses the three. Cavs 99-76

4th Quarter: LeBron starts the final frame with a three and Devin Harris responds with a triple of his own at the other end. Love grabs a defensive rebound off of a Stoudemire miss and hits a three of his own off of a James dime cueing another Carlisle timeout…Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe are right. Love looked utterly miserable celebrating with J.R. Smith during the TO. Also, the Cavs just won their 41st game of the season. One more than the Timberwolves put up in Love’s best season in Minnesota, and we are still a few days away from the Ides of March…LeBron sizes up Parsons, and as the defense collapses on him he finds Love for a corner three. Love then backs down Parsons on the block for a hook shot. The Kendrick Perkins victory cigar checks in with five minutes remaining in the quarter. FINAL Cavs 127-94

BOO: Not a lot to be upset about with this one. Tristan was kind of non-existent due to foul trouble.

YAY: The Cavs starters utterly dominated the Mavs first unit. All five starters scored 17 or more. I don’t have a date for the last time that happened, but it’s been a while…LeBron put up 27/7/8 on 14 shots and only had two turnovers…Kevin Love came alive and exploited mismatches in the second half. I agree with Simmons and Lowe saying that Love could do so much more than he’s being asked to do. I would still like to see more pick and roll/pop action with him actively involved, rather than just being the weak side flare option…The team shot a bat poo crazy 15-32 from downtown and held Dallas to 40% from the field. This was one of the most complete performances by the team all season. Bring on the Spurs.

UBER YAY: Shout out to Carlisle Flynn Curiale, one of the newest Cavs fans on the planet. While I have a sneaking suspicion that your Dallas rooting mama Cicily A.K.A. Dolly A.K.A. Cheese named you after Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, your pops will insist that you be a Cleveland sports fan and share in his three decades of suffering. You picked a lucky time to come into the world kiddo, there probably will be a championship parade in Cleveland before you’re potty trained. In all seriousness, your Mom and Dad are two of the finest people I’ve ever known and I can’t wait to see the parents they grow into and meet the person they made from scratch. See ya in a month at the Indians opener.