A worrisome day and a tough loss behind them, the Cleveland Cavaliers hope for a better all-around experience when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
While the Mavericks had settled comfortably into their Cleveland hotel on Friday, the Cavaliers found themselves in Miami, not sure when they’d be able to return home, where they were scheduled to host Dallas on the second night of a back-to-back.
The FAA put a stop to flights across the country for more than four hours Friday amid technical difficulties, eventually lifting the stoppage after the Cavaliers had tipped off in Miami.
Asked shortly before tip-off what the plans were after the game — the Cavaliers were scheduled to go directly from the arena to the airport for their early-morning flight — Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson admitted he had no idea where the bus would be taking his team after the game against the Heat.
“We’re scrambling to find hotel rooms in case,” Atkinson told the media, indicating that staying overnight was a possibility. “If not, we’ll sleep on the bus.”
The good news was that the team found vacant hotel rooms and was able to schedule a flight early enough on Saturday so as to not affect the 7:30 p.m. starting time of the Dallas game.
The bad news: Amid the commotion and confusion, the Cavaliers gave up 41 fourth-quarter points and saw a competitive effort in Miami turn into a 133-121 defeat.
The loss capped a 1-2 trip for the Cavaliers, who will play their next four games at home. They are 4-2 in front of their fans this season despite a tough schedule that’s seen them already welcome Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia and New York to the city.
Tyrese Proctor hit five 3-pointers and seven of his nine shots overall in a 22-point performance off the Cleveland bench in Miami. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 25 points.
Despite not having faced Dallas last season as he split time with the G-League Cleveland Charge, Proctor will see a familiar face Saturday night when former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg suits up for the Mavericks.
Flagg, the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, had 25 and 27 points against the Cavaliers last season when the clubs met twice in a three-day span, once at each team’s home.
The Mavericks were able to beat the Cavaliers to Cleveland because they played Thursday night in Minneapolis and made the flight to Ohio after the game. Dallas lost the one-sided affair 133-94 to open a three-game trip.
The Mavericks had won three in a row before the loss.
The elder statesman of the Mavericks, 34-year-old Kyrie Irving, told reporters this week that he has warned his teammates to shield themselves from outside distractions, such as the popular rumor that Dallas will trade the nine-time All-Star at some point.
“I let the team know out of my own mouth that these trade rumors, anything that’s going on with me, do not let this infiltrate our locker room. Don’t let this get in the way of what we have building here,” he said, adding first-year coach Dusty May is “doing a great job of confronting us when we’re not doing things right or when we’re not living up to our standards.”
– Field Level Media
