Cavs crush depleted Mavs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Dallas Mavericks, rocked by the sudden trade of superstar Luka Doncic and wracked by injuries, were blown out, 144-101, by the National Basketball Association (NBA)-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

The Cavaliers remained five and a half games ahead of the Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference after the reigning champion Celtics matched the biggest comeback of the season, erasing a 26-point deficit late in the third quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-110.

In an inauspicious start to the post-Doncic era, the Mavs came stumbling out of the gate, hindered not only by the emotional aftermath of the deal announced on Saturday night but also by the injury absences of a string of regular starters, including Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.

With Anthony Davis, the star big man acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Doncic, and Dallas-bound Laker Max Christie not yet available for their new team, the Mavs were outscored 50-19 in the first quarter.

There was little let-up from the Cavs, who poured in a franchise-record 26 three-pointers and led by as many as 53 points.

Sam Merrill came off the bench to lead the Cavs with 27 points, including nine three-pointers on 13 attempts. It was his final three-pointer that broke the record of 25 in a game that the Cavs had achieved twice before.