Mavs use big second half to down Cavs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rodrigue Beaubois scored 18 points and fellow reserves Darren Collison and Brandan Wright each netted 13, as the Dallas bench spurred the Mavericks to a 96-86 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dirk Nowitzki totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavs, who shot 63 percent from the field in the second half to win for the fifth time in six games.
"Their size hurt us early, but then we were more aggressive in the second half and I think that was the difference," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dion Waiters paced Cleveland with 21 points, while Tyler Zeller finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, the club's third in four games.
Dallas opened the fourth quarter with a 17-4 run, with Beaubois providing seven points and Wright eight, including a putback slam for an 84-72 with 6:16 remaining.
The closest Cleveland got from there was eight.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Cavs never trailed in the first half and were in front by as many as 11 before taking a 46-38 lead into the break.
After hitting 39 percent of their shots before halftime, the Mavs found their stroke in the third quarter, though they still trailed by one, 68-67 heading to the fourth.
"We missed a bunch of wide open shots in the second half, and they made a bunch of wide open shots. ... That was the difference I thought between the first half and the second half," Cleveland head coach Byron Scott said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Dallas' bench outscored Cleveland's, 60-19 ... Mavs swingman Vince Carter became the 33rd player in NBA history with at least 8,000 career field goals ... Dallas' Jae Crowder pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds ... The Mavs made seven 3-pointers, ending a string of seven straight games with eight or more ... Cavs guard Wayne Ellington sat out due to a left lateral ankle sprain.