NBA Game Summary - Cleveland at Dallas

Dallas, TX (Basketball News) - Michael Finley scored a team-high 26 points as Dallas dominated Cleveland for an easy 117-86 victory at AmericanAirlines Center.

Keith Van Horn netted 23 points off the bench, while Jason Terry added 14 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who won their seventh game in nine tries. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

LeBron James led the way for Cleveland with 19 points. Drew Gooden tallied 16 points and Anderson Varejao contributed 14 off the bench for the Cavaliers, who dropped their second straight contest and lost for the 11th time in 15 games.

Cleveland fell 1 1/2 games behind Chicago for the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Bulls downed Indiana 100-96 on Saturday.

The Mavericks distanced themselves from the Cavaliers in the second frame. With the score knotted at 31-31, Dallas, keyed by a 20-7 run, grabbed a 51-38 lead with 5:53 left in the half and never looked back.

Finley ignited and capped the flurry with three-point buckets.

Ira Newble brought Cleveland within 54-44 moments later with his jumper, but Terry ended the half for Dallas with a trey that staked the Mavericks to a 66-50 lead at the break.

Dallas really poured it on in the third frame, stretching its lead to as many as 28 after Van Horn hit a pair from the free throw line with under a minute left in the stanza.

The Mavericks led 89-66 heading into the fourth.

Cleveland never threatened in the final frame, as they fell behind by as many as 32 in suffering the loss.

The game was tied 29-29 at the end of the first quarter.