The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 111-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, returning to winning ways after a surprise loss to the lowly Charlotte Bobcats.
“We came out with a different agenda tonight, and it showed,” Cleveland’s LeBron James told reporters after scoring 25 points and handing out 12 assists the day after the Cavaliers lost 94-87 at Charlotte.
Guard Mo Williams also had 25 points and hit all seven of his three-pointers in helping the Central Division-leading Cavaliers turn back the Southwest Division’s top team.
Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points and Jason Terry contributed 25.
“We were kind of all over the map [at Charlotte] and it showed,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown told reporters. “We had a lot of good performances [against Dallas], especially offensively. A lot of guys stood out.”
The Cavaliers got 15 points on seven-of-seven shooting and nine rebounds from reserve Anderson Varejao, with Jamario Moon scoring 13 points and Delonte West playing his best game of the season with 10 points and 10 assists.
“I threw Delonte into the game for matchup purposes and he played well and we played well so I stayed with it,” Brown said.
A quick start by James sparked the win. The Cavaliers leader had 11 points and eight assists in a busy first quarter as Cleveland cruised to a 35-26 advantage,
Then Williams went to work, scoring 13 of his 19 first half points in the second quarter as Cleveland stretched the lead to 68-55 as they shot 68 percent from the floor.
“It doesn’t matter if I don’t shoot well from the night before,” the Cavaliers guard said. “I learned a long time ago never to let the last play affect the next play.”
Center Shaquille O’Neal, back for a second game after missing six with a shoulder injury, logged nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
Shawn Marion finished with 12 points and Jose Barea collected 10 for Dallas, who had won seven of its previous eight games.
The Mavericks got within eight points in the third quarter but could never come closer.
“We got caught ball-watching too many times,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “We just played probably as poor a defensive half as we played all year. And you can’t do that against a team like this that’s so good on its home floor.”
JAZZ 108, TRAIL BLAZERS 92
In Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Utah to a win over Portland and its fifth victory in six games.
Deron Williams added 24 points and 15 assists for the Jazz, which never trailed and shot a season-best 61.4 percent from the field.
Brandon Roy scored 19 points for the Blazers, who missed 15 of their 18 attempts from three-point range.
MAGIC 100, BUCKS 98
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Vince Carter scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half after getting four stitches as Orlando edged Milwaukee.
Dwight Howard added 25 points and 20 rebounds for the Magic, who trailed by 15 midway through the third quarter before Carter sparked the comeback.
He missed a majority of the first half after needing stitches for a cut lip.
Ersan Ilyasova finished with 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for Milwaukee.
LAKERS 130, WARRIORS 97
In Oakland, California, Los Angeles made it five straight wins by thrashing Golden State.
Pau Gasol scored 22 points to lead seven players in double figures and also had 12 rebounds. Ron Artest added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists to help the Lakers to their highest point total of the season. Monta Ellis scored 18 points in Golden State’s third straight game without ill coach Don Nelson, who is fighting pneumonia.
BOBCATS 92, WIZARDS 76
In Washington, Gerald Wallace had 14 points and 14 rebounds in Charlotte’s win over Washington.
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