• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Mavs top Cavs for 5th straight win

Jan 5, 2015 - 2:25 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis scored 20 points and the Dallas Mavericks shot better than 56 percent from the field to beat the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-90 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive win.

Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points and Chandler Parsons, Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea each scored 14 for the Mavericks, who moved into a virtual tie with Memphis for first place in the Southwest Division.

Kevin Love picked up the offensive slack for Cleveland again, scoring 30 and grabbing 10 rebounds.

The Cavaliers have lost four of their last five games, including three of four without LeBron James.

The Cavs beat Charlotte on Friday to snap a three-game losing streak a day after learning James will miss two weeks with knee and back strains.

Love netted 27 points against the Hornets and Kyrie Irving scored 23, but had only six against Dallas before leaving the game with lower back tightness in the third quarter.

The Mavericks never trailed after Devin Harris' 3-pointer gave them a 24-23 lead with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.

They were 12-of-26 from beyond the arc, with Richard Jefferson hitting all three of his tries for 11 points off the bench.

"The other night we played great defensively. Today we did not play good enough defense to beat any team, and certainly not Dallas," said Cavaliers coach David Blatt. "We didn't defend the 3-point shot well."

Dallas pushed its lead to double digits for the first time when Parsons scored four points on a quick 6-0 burst midway through the second quarter.

That sparked an extended 14-3 run that gave the Mavericks a 15-point lead with two minutes left in the first half. It was 57-47 at the break and they led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said it was a closer game than the score indicated.

"They're down bodies," he said. "Irving is out after a little bit in the second half, so we had to take advantage of it. But they battled us all day long."

Dallas point guard Rajon Rondo finished with four points and eight assists after scoring a season-high 29 in a 119-101 win over Boston on Friday, his first game against his former team.

Game Notes

Shawn Marion scored 13 points off the bench for Cleveland and Matthew Dellavedova had 10. Tristan Thompson grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss ... The Mavericks finish a three-game road trip on Tuesday against Brooklyn ... The Cavaliers play in Philadelphia on Monday.