Preview: Dallas Mavericks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers - prediction, team news, form guide

Having deed a unsmooth spot of late, the Dallas Mavericks volition acceptable retired to get themselves backmost connected way erstwhile they invited the Cleveland Cavaliers to the American Airlines Center connected Saturday.
 
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, caput to Texas this play seeking to prime up a ninth triumph connected the bounce and proceed their blistering commencement to the 2024-25 campaign.

Match preview

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Following a 110-100 decision to the Sacramento Kings to adjacent retired 2024, the Dallas Mavericks began the caller twelvemonth connected the backmost ft aft Thursday's 110-99 nonaccomplishment against the Houston Rockets astatine the Toyota Center.
 
A six-point pb astatine the extremity of the opening exchanges offered immoderate encouragement for Jason Kidd's men, who were blown distant implicit the consequent 2 quarters to render their fourth-quarter effort astatine a fightback inconsequential.
 
Featuring successful a much salient capableness owed to the lack of level wide Luka Doncic, Quentin Grimes racked up an awesome 17 points connected 6-17 shooting, 1 much than Kyrie Irving's tally of 16 to pb the Mavericks successful scoring.
 
Failing to spell beyond the 100-point people successful 4 of their past 5 matches, past year's Western Conference champions person seen their violative output importantly dwindle of precocious from their mean of 116.6 points scored per game.
 
Dallas' blip successful signifier has seen them driblet to 5th spot successful the West contempt having played the joint-most games successful the league (34) alongside the Memphis Grizzlies, the Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans.
 
Going 1-3 implicit their precocious concluded four-game roadworthy trip, Saturday's hosts volition beryllium keen to bask location comfortableness this play and debar suffering 4 defeats connected the bounce for the archetypal clip since mid-November.

© Imago
 
Just implicit 24 hours aft making airy enactment of the situation of the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers were acold excessively beardown for the Los Angeles Lakers arsenic they cruised to a 122-110 triumph astatine Crypto.com Arena connected Wednesday.
 
Albeit by lone a single-digit borderline connected each occasion, Kenny Atkinson's men emerged victorious successful each 4 quarters of the contention to nip immoderate effort of a comeback successful the bud successful a mostly one-sided affair.
 
Posting his 19th double-double this term, towering halfway Jarrett Allen racked up a season-high 27 points connected 12-14 shooting from the tract to spell on with a game-high 14 rebounds successful his 31 minutes of action.
 
Now 5 games wide of defending champions Boston Celtics astatine the apical of the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers are good connected people to clinch the number-one effect for the archetypal clip since LeBron James's 2nd stint backmost successful 2016.
 
On that occasion, Saturday's visitors would spell connected to triumph the NBA championship, and their commencement to the existent run has exponentially raised expectations regarding a 2nd rubric successful franchise history.

Dallas Mavericks NBA form:

Cleveland Cavaliers NBA form:

Team News

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Mavericks defender Luka Doncic is presently retired of contention with a strained calf and is not expected to beryllium backmost disposable for enactment until different 4 weeks astatine least.
 
Australia planetary Dante Exum is besides unavailable for the location broadside present having not featured this play aft undergoing wrist country successful October.
 
Small guardant Isaac Okoro remains ruled retired owed to a sprained acromioclavicular associated successful his close enarthrosis but is drafting progressively person to a instrumentality to action.
 
Sam Merrill was incapable to implicit the visitors' past outing owed to an ankle issue, and it remains to beryllium seen if the 28-year-old volition beryllium acceptable capable to play immoderate part.
 
Since signing a two-way declaration with the Cavaliers past month, Luke Travers has missed each of his side's matches owed to an ankle occupation helium picked up portion connected G-League duty.

We say: Cavaliers to triumph by 5+ points

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