Jamison's 35 Points Not Enough In Loss To Mavericks

Shawn Marion scored 22 points while DeShawn Stevenson added 21, helping the depleted Dallas Mavericks to a 104-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tyson Chandler provided 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who are without forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler because of injuries. However, they got big contributions from their starters, all of whom scored at least 10 points to help Dallas snap a three-game slide.

Jason Terry netted 18, while Jason Kidd scored 10 with eight assists.

Antawn Jamison ended with 35 points and 10 boards for the Cavaliers, who were coming off Saturday’s loss in Chicago. Cleveland’s two losses to begin the new year continued the trend from its horrid December, when the Cavs went 1-14.

Ramon Sessions contributed 19 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the setback.

Dallas opened the game with a 12-2 run and pushed its lead to 21-7 on Marion’s dunk with 5:37 left. But Cleveland ended the quarter on a 14-4 burst, drawing within 27-25 on Sessions’ jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining.

That pattern repeated itself throughout the contest — the Mavericks built a double-digit lead before Cleveland answered.

But Dallas’ rallies were a little more sustained and frequent than Cleveland’s. While the Mavericks couldn’t turn the game into a blowout, they still forced the Cavaliers to play from behind.

The Cavaliers were actually ahead after starting the second with an Alonzo Gee free throw and J.J. Hickson dunk. The Mavericks scored the next eight points, and were back up by double digits shortly thereafter.

Dallas led by as many as 15 in the quarter — Chandler’s layup with 4:05 left made it a 51-36 contest — but Cleveland had the next three buckets and was within 55-47 at halftime.

The same scenario played out in the third, when the Mavericks led by a game- high 17 before taking a 79-69 lead into the fourth.

Cleveland made a final push to get back in the game nearly halfway through the final quarter. Jamison hit two jumpers during a six-point burst that brought Cavaliers within 86-77 with 6:23 to go.

However, Dallas scored nine of the next 11 points to essentially secure the victory.

The Mavericks made 10-of-27 shots from three-point range, compared to 5-of-17 for Cleveland…The Cavaliers made 50.6 percent of their shots overall…Dallas scored 20 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers.

Jamison's 35 Points Not Enough In Loss To Mavericks

Shawn Marion scored 22 points while DeShawn Stevenson added 21, helping the depleted Dallas Mavericks to a 104-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tyson Chandler provided 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who are without forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler because of injuries. However, they got big contributions from their starters, all of whom scored at least 10 points to help Dallas snap a three-game slide.

Jason Terry netted 18, while Jason Kidd scored 10 with eight assists.

Antawn Jamison ended with 35 points and 10 boards for the Cavaliers, who were coming off Saturday’s loss in Chicago. Cleveland’s two losses to begin the new year continued the trend from its horrid December, when the Cavs went 1-14.

Ramon Sessions contributed 19 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in the setback.

Dallas opened the game with a 12-2 run and pushed its lead to 21-7 on Marion’s dunk with 5:37 left. But Cleveland ended the quarter on a 14-4 burst, drawing within 27-25 on Sessions’ jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining.

That pattern repeated itself throughout the contest — the Mavericks built a double-digit lead before Cleveland answered.

But Dallas’ rallies were a little more sustained and frequent than Cleveland’s. While the Mavericks couldn’t turn the game into a blowout, they still forced the Cavaliers to play from behind.

The Cavaliers were actually ahead after starting the second with an Alonzo Gee free throw and J.J. Hickson dunk. The Mavericks scored the next eight points, and were back up by double digits shortly thereafter.

Dallas led by as many as 15 in the quarter — Chandler’s layup with 4:05 left made it a 51-36 contest — but Cleveland had the next three buckets and was within 55-47 at halftime.

The same scenario played out in the third, when the Mavericks led by a game- high 17 before taking a 79-69 lead into the fourth.

Cleveland made a final push to get back in the game nearly halfway through the final quarter. Jamison hit two jumpers during a six-point burst that brought Cavaliers within 86-77 with 6:23 to go.

However, Dallas scored nine of the next 11 points to essentially secure the victory.

The Mavericks made 10-of-27 shots from three-point range, compared to 5-of-17 for Cleveland…The Cavaliers made 50.6 percent of their shots overall…Dallas scored 20 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers.

Cavs Searching For A Win, Take On Dallas Mavericks

A week ago Dallas was flying high. Now, the Mavericks are in the midst of a season-worst three-game losing streak as they invade Cleveland with injuries threatening to derail what was looking like a spectacular season.

Already without superstar Dirk Nowitzki (sprained knee) and fellow forward Shawn Marion (bruised thigh), the Mavs lost swingman Caron Butler to a knee injury in a 99-87 setback in Milwaukee on Saturday. Earl Boykins returned from a one-game suspension and scored eight of his season-best 26 points in that one.

Jose Barea had a career-high 29 points for the Mavericks, who are now 4 1/2 games behind sizzling San Antonio in the Southwest Division. Jason Kidd had 14 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and six steals for Dallas while Tyson Chandler scored 11 for the Mavs, who were a dismal 9-of-32 from three-point range.

But the story was Butler, who walked to the locker room with 2:47 left in the opening quarter after injuring his right knee and never returned. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle called the injury "potentially serious."

"We will find out (Sunday) where things are at, probably later in the day," Carlisle said.

The Mavs haven't lost four in a row since January 9-14, 2009.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have their own injury problems and dropped their sixth straight game in Chicago on Saturday, 100-91. Derrick Rose scored 28 points to go along with 11 assists in that one as the Bulls used a strong third quarter to take control.

J.J. Hickson led the Cavaliers with 21 points in a reserve role. Antawn Jamison added 19 points and nine rebounds and Leon Powe scored 14 for Cleveland, which played the game with a limited lineup.

The Cavaliers were without guards Daniel Gibson (bruised thigh) and Mo Williams (hip flexor strain). The team also made the trip without forward Anderson Varejao, who suffered a non-displaced maxilla (cheek) fracture in the Cavaliers' loss to Charlotte on Dec. 29.

"One of our biggest problems is still communicating out there on the floor," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said. "We have to do a much better job of communicating, and that's all five guys."

Varejao has already been ruled out of tonight's game while Williams and Gibson are day-to-day and will be game-time decisions.

Dallas snapped a four-game skid to the Cavs with a 102-95 win in Big D just over a year ago.