The start of the post-Luka Doncic era did not go well for the Dallas Mavericks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers set a franchise record with 91 first-half points en route to Sunday's 144-101 rout of a Mavericks team decimated by injuries and still dealing with the shock of their franchise player being traded less than 24 hours before tip-off.

Dallas orchestrated one of the biggest in-season moves in league history by agreeing to send Doncic, an NBA MVP finalist last season, to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night for a package centred around 10-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis.

Davis is currently dealing with an abdominal strain that will put his Mavericks debut on hold, and Dallas was also without star guard Kyrie Irving and several other key players due to injuries. 

Not surprisingly, the NBA-leading Cavaliers dominated from start to finish in a game they led by as many as 53 points. Eight Cleveland players scored in double figures, led by reserve Sam Merrill's 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.

Evan Mobley contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds to Cleveland's fourth straight victory, while Darius Garland had all 17 of his points during the Cavs' record-setting first half and finished with 10 assists.

Jaden Hardy paced Dallas' depleted lineup with 21 points, while rookie Kylor Kelly had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his first career NBA start.

Garland put up 13 points during the Cavaliers' sizzling opening quarter, in which they shot 72 per cent from the field to take a commanding 50-19 lead into the second. 

Cleveland didn't let up in the next period, as Merrill knocked down four 3-pointers to highlight the Cavs' 41-point second quarter as their lead increased to 91-46 at the intermission.

At the HALF@cavs 91
DAL 46

The Cavaliers set a new FRANCHISE RECORD for points in a single half pic.twitter.com/f9r0mBiMPt

— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 2, 2025

The Cavaliers' 91 points were tied for the third-most in a first half by any team in NBA history.

Jackson's 37 points helps Grizzlies beat Bucks again

The absence of Ja Morant still didn't prevent the Memphis Grizzlies from continuing their success against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jaren Jackson Jr. amassed 16 of his 37 points during a big fourth quarter that lifted the Grizzlies to a 132-119 victory over the suddenly slumping Bucks.

Memphis posted its seventh straight win over Milwaukee despite Morant missing a second consecutive game with a sore right shoulder. The Southwest Division leaders still had enough to record their eighth victory in their last nine games, however, by getting big efforts from Jackson, Santi Aldama and Desmond Bane.

Aldama delivered 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Bane had 15 of his 22 points in the second half while finishing with nine assists and a 9-of-15 shooting performance.

Giannis Antetokounmpo compiled 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee, but Damian Lillard struggled with a 4-of-15 shooting line while held to 15 points in the Bucks' third loss in a row. Khris Middleton had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench in defeat.

Milwaukee held an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter before the Grizzlies reversed momentum, with Jackson sparking the rally. The All-Star forward accounted for 11 points during a 15-2 run he capped with a 3-pointer that gave Memphis a 108-103 advantage with under nine minutes left.

.@jarenjacksonjr scored 16 of his 37 points in the 4th Quarter and is tonight's Player of the Game presented by @IntlPaperCopic.twitter.com/0qO0Jxaq3O

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) February 3, 2025

The Bucks fought back to tie the game at 112-112 on Antetokounmpo's 3-pointer with 6:28 to play, but Aldama's basket followed by five straight points from Bane helped the Grizzlies pull away heading into the final five minutes.

Milwaukee had a 58-56 edge at half-time behind 13 points from Middleton, then outscored Memphis by a 13-5 margin to start the third quarter to open up a 71-61 lead early in the second half.

Celtics put forth big rally to get past 76ers

Jayson Tatum scored 25 of his 35 points in the second half as the Boston Celtics overcame a 26-point deficit to record a 118-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The defending NBA champions earned their third straight victory despite trailing 90-64 with under 15 minutes left. The Celtics came back by putting together a dominant fourth quarter in which they outscored Philadelphia by a 38-16 margin and made eight of 12 shots from 3-point range.

Tatum led the rally by netting 13 of his points in the final period and added 11 assists for the evening. The Celtics also received 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jaylen Brown, while Derrick White delivered 17 points and nine assists while going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Philadelphia, again playing without injured stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, lost for the second time following a four-game winning streak despite Tyrese Maxey's 34 points. Guerschon Yabusele added 21 points for the 76ers, while Kelly Oubre Jr. registered 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Maxey poured in 23 first-half points and the 76ers held Boston to 33.3 per cent shooting over the first two quarters to build a 61-44 lead at half-time. Philadelphia later seemingly put the contest out of reach with a 10-2 run that extended their advantage to 90-64 with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Celtics closed out the period with a 16-4 burst, however, and continued their surge in the fourth.

Boston scored 25 of the first 31 points of the final quarter and took a 101-100 edge on Tatum's 3-pointer with 6:51 remaining. Luke Kornet followed with a dunk on the Celtics' next possession before Tatum struck again with a layup to put the Celtics up by five with 5:42 left.

Our 26-point comeback W equals the biggest comeback in the league this seasonpic.twitter.com/wgCqHX62br

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 3, 2025

The Celtics later sealed the outcome with two big baskets late, a Tatum floater and Jrue Holiday's 3-pointer with 52.2 seconds to play that gave Boston a 118-110 lead.