Mitchell and Cavs outlast Mavs, winning, 100-99, in overtime

CLEVELAND – Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points Saturday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and edged the short-handed Dallas Mavericks, 100-99, in overtime at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The loss dropped the Mavs to 15-15 going into Monday’s game in Minnesota, while the Cavs improved to 20-11.

The Mavs played without starters Luka Doncic (right quad strain), Spencer Dinwiddie (right knee, injury recovery) and Dwight Powell (left thigh contusion), and without two of their top reserves — Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear). But there they were slugging it out on the road with one of the best teams the NBA has to offer.

In fact, the Mavs had a solid chance to win this game. Following a missed shot by Cavs center Jarrett Allen, Kemba Walker came down and fired up a shot that got wedged between the basket and the backboard with 12.7 seconds left.

That prompted a jump ball at midcourt, which Christian Wood won over Allen. But after the ball went from Walker to Tim Hardaway Jr. and to Wood, mere seconds remained on the clock before Wood was force to heave a desperation long three-pointer over the outstretched hands of Allen as time expired.

Even with the loss, the Mavs got some valuable real estate out of Walker, who finished with a game-high 32 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes. Wood contributed 26 minutes and 14 rebounds in 43 minutes, Hardaway scored 13 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith tallied 11 points before fouling out in the overtime session.

Walker had a chance to tie the game, but he split a pair of free throws with 22.1 seconds left in regulation, leaving the Mavs down 95-94. Allen then converted one of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining that padded Cleveland’s lead to 96-94

Walker then made amends as he knotted the game at 96 and sent it into overtime when he drove past Allen and scored with 3.5 seconds to go. After that, Mitchell pushed off on Hardaway and drew an offensive foul with just 0.7 seconds remaining, and the game went into the extra five-minute session.

Based on losing in Dallas to the Cavs this past Wednesday, 105-90, this was a game not many gave the Mavs a chance of winning. Especially since they were without five of their top eight players.

But with Walker and Wood running the show, the Mavs built a 60-50 lead less than three minutes into the second half. But the Cavs kept lurking around the corner and eventually had just enough in the tank to outlast the Mavs at the end.

Both teams were on the last leg of a back-to-back. The Cavs won at home on Friday against Indiana, and the Mavs beat Portland in Dallas on Friday and didn’t arrive at their hotel in Cleveland until 4 a.m.

Twitter: @DwainPrice