The Dallas Mavericks, rocked by the sudden trade of superstar Luka Doncic and wracked by injuries, were blown out 144-101 by the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

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.

But Merrill was just one of eight Cleveland players to score in double figures.

Evan Mobley added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Darius Garland chipped in 17 points and 10 assists before sitting out the entire fourth quarter along with the rest of the Cavs starters.

Jaden Hardy led the Mavericks with 21 points off the bench. Dante Exum, playing just his second game of the season after October wrist surgery, scored 14 but sharpshooter Klay Thompson had just two points on 1-of-10 shooting.

"I think the first quarter got us a little bit," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "After that we got better and I thought in the second half we were a lot better."

In a pre-game press conference focused largely on the trade, Kidd sounded like a coach who knew just what his team would be up against less than 24 hours after the deal sent shockwaves through the league.

"So you guys don't have any questions about the game?" he asked reporters a bit wistfully, before reading out a list of seven absentees that included both Christie and Davis, who were listed as inactive due to "trade pending".

While Kidd said he was "aligned" with the defense-first mindset of Mavericks general manage Nico Harrison in bringing Davis to Dallas, he admitted his immediate reaction was "shock".

"It is a little shocking, but in the sense we have to push forward as a organization, as a team," Kidd said.

On a day when the Doncic-Davis deal overshadowed all five games on the slate, Cade Cunningham scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 127-119 victory over the Chicago Bulls, Detroit withstanding a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists by Bulls center Nikola Vucevic.