The Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks will play the first half of a home-and-home set Friday night in Texas, with the foes possessing different outlooks in the final month of the regular season.
The second part of the set will be Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have dropped four of their past seven games, including a 128-122 loss at the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. James Harden scored 30 points — his highest total since being acquired by Cleveland from the Los Angeles Clippers last month — and had eight assists.
The Cavaliers are firmly in control of the fourth and final home-court advantage spot in the Eastern Conference, but they squandered an opportunity to pull closer to the third-place New York Knicks.
“Obviously, Orlando is a really good team, but it’s a game we should have won — a game we should win,” Harden said. “It comes down to getting stops and relying on our defense to win us games.”
The other half of Cleveland’s superstar backcourt, Donovan Mitchell, scored 25 points and joined Harden in sinking late 3-pointers that kept the Cavaliers close. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley added 18 points and 13 rebounds.
But a mental lapse on an inbound play with 18 seconds left allowed Desmond Bane to take, and make, an uncontested 3-pointer that clinched the victory for Orlando.
“We score enough points,” Harden said. “Offensively, we can score with the best of them. Nights like this are very tough.”
Cleveland is 23-10 since Dec. 29, yet has shown a disturbing trend over the past three weeks. It has strung consecutive wins together once since rolling off seven straight from Feb. 1-20.
Starting center Jarrett Allen hasn’t played since hurting his right knee on March 3 against Detroit. Coach Kenny Atkinson continues to downplay the severity of the injury, but Allen already has been ruled out in Dallas.
The Mavericks, who are steamrolling to a draft lottery pick, got back into the win column for the first time since Feb. 24, thanks to a vintage performance by 34-year-old Khris Middleton on Thursday.
Middleton scored 22 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter in a 120-112 victory at the Memphis Grizzlies. He logged just 25 minutes and made 8 of 10 3-point attempts as Dallas snapped an eight-game losing streak.
“It’s been a joy to play with him,” Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson said of Middleton. “He’s very efficient with everything he does. He’s a great ballhandler, a cerebral player. We’re lucky to have him.”
Rookie of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg netted 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists at Memphis. Center Daniel Gafford dominated the paint for 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Thompson had the night off to rest, but he will play against the Cavaliers. Dallas has lost 18 of its past 21 games and owns the seventh-worst record in the league.
With former All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery) and center Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) long ago ruled out for the season, the Mavericks are figuratively running out the clock.
“We’re obviously missing some great players in Kyrie and D-Live, so it’s tough,” Thompson said. “We haven’t been whole.”
