Mayo’s 19 points power Mavs past Cavs

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

O.J. Mayo scored 19 points and the Dallas Mavericks used a pair of 9-0 runs in the fourth quarter to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-95 on Saturday night.

Chris Kaman scored 15 points while Vince Carter and Darren Collison added 14 apiece for Dallas, which won on the road for the second time in six games.

Kyrie Irving, who left briefly in the third quarter with a finger injury, led Cleveland with 26 points, but the Cavaliers lost their fifth straight game.

Mayo hit a 3-pointer and a layup down the stretch to spark Dallas, which outscored the Cavaliers 28-22 in the final period. The Mavericks had six players score in double figures.

Dion Waiters and Daniel Gibson had 16 points apiece for Cleveland.

Dallas used its first 9-0 run in the fourth to build an 87-80 lead, but five straight points by Irving cut the lead to two. Irving’s basket off a steal tied it at 89 before the Mavericks scored the next nine points.

A basket by Kaman, a 3-pointer from the corner by Mayo, a lay-in by Collison and Shawn Marion’s jumper gave Dallas a 98-89 lead.

Irving was forced out with 6:54 remaining in the third quarter. He squeezed his left hand and walked to the bench where he was examined by trainer Max Benton during a timeout. The two then walked to the locker room.

X-rays of Irving’s hand were negative, and he was diagnosed with a contusion on his index finger.

Marion, who scored 10 points, made his second straight start after sitting out five games with a sprained left medial collateral ligament. He had two points and seven rebounds in Dallas’ 103-83 loss at Indiana on Friday.

The Cavaliers dropped the last four and five of six on an 11-day road trip. Cleveland was coming off a 114-101 loss at Brooklyn on Tuesday night, a defensive effort that disappointed coach Byron Scott. Anderson Varejao (35) and Irving (34) both set a career high for points in that setback.

The Cavaliers were 29th in the NBA in points allowed (104.8) entering the game.

Cavaliers rookie center Tyler Zeller returned after missing four games because of a fractured left orbital bone and a concussion. Wearing a mask to protect the broken bone, he had three points and two rebounds in 25 minutes.

Mavericks starting forward Elton Brand was scoreless in 11 minutes. He missed both shots from the field and had four rebounds.