Dallas Mavericks (7-5) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (6-7), NBA, Saturday Nov 14, 2026, 7:30 PM ET at Rocket Arena, Cleveland.
The Cavaliers play the second night of a back-to-back after a rough 24 hours. Miami scored 41 points in the fourth quarter to beat Cleveland 133-121 on Friday, and an FAA ground stop then kept the team in Miami overnight. They left at 8:54 a.m. Saturday. Head coach Kenny Atkinson: "It's part of it. You just adapt."
Key points before tip-off:
- Donovan Mitchell (left knee, 23.0 points per game), James Harden (left calf tightness) and Jarrett Allen (right knee) are all questionable. Evan Mobley is out with a toe sprain.
- Cooper Flagg scored 43 against Indiana, then a season-low 12 on 5-of-12 shooting in a 133-94 loss at Minnesota. He averages 24.6 points.
- Cleveland attempt 41.8 threes a game, 6th in the NBA.
- Dallas hold opponents to 32.8% from three, 7th-best in the league.
- Last meeting: Dallas won 130-120 in Cleveland on Mar 15, even though the Cavs took 41 threes to Dallas's 30.
The big question is who is available for Cleveland. With Mitchell, Harden and Allen all game-time decisions and Mobley out, the Cavs could be very thin against a Mavericks team led by rookie star Cooper Flagg. Flagg said after the Minnesota loss: "Our preparation could've been a lot better tonight." Watch how he responds.
Sources: AP, ESPN, cleveland.com, ClutchPoints, NBC Sports, Dallas Morning News, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference.
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