Mavericks recap: LeBron-less Cavaliers edge Dallas 99-98

Why the Mavs lost: Despite playing without LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers still had more than enough to beat the Dallas Mavericks.

Kyrie Irving poured in a pair of free throws with 2.3 seconds left and the Cavs held on to defeat the Mavs, 99-98, Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. Thus, the Mavs finished this short road trip with a 1-1 record.

The Mavs fell down by 20 points, but had several chances to tie the game or take a lead. The final nail came when Devin Harris turned the ball over on a pass intedned for Dirk Nowitzki with the Mavs down 97-95 with five seconds left.

From there, Irving buried two free throws, which made the 3-pointer Deron Williams banked in at the buzzer a non-factor.

Key players: Kyrie Irvin scored 33 points, Kevin Love added 23 points and 18 rebounds, Channing Frye tallied 14 points and J. R. Smith collected 13 points.

Key stat: The Cavs beat the Mavs on the boards, 48-32

Records: Mavs 34-34, Cavs 48-19

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Mavericks recap: LeBron-less Cavaliers edge Dallas 99-98."