Cavaliers  95    Mavericks  102

Cleveland Cavaliers (20-7) at Dallas Mavericks (19-8), 7:30 p.m.

Sports Network | December 20, 2009

(Sports Network) - Two of the NBA's top teams clash in north Texas on Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks play host to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs, who are kicking off a four-game road trip tonight, earned their fifth straight win on Friday when James ended two assists shy of a triple- double, with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight helpers, as Cleveland held on to beat Milwaukee, 85-82.

Mo Williams added 17 points and Delonte West 12 for the Cavaliers, who will be aiming for their sixth straight win over Dallas tonight.

Cleveland will also visit Phoenix, Sacramento and the LA Lakers on their trek.

The Mavs, meanwhile, are coming off a tough overtime loss to Southwest Division-rival Houston on Friday. Kyle Lowry poured in a career-high 26 points while dishing out 10 assists and grabbing six rebounds in that one, as the Rockets edged Dallas, 116-108, in a feisty affair at American Airlines Center.

Things got heated when Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki drove to the lane with about 9 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. Nowitzki missed the short jumper but was fouled by Houston forward Carl Landry during a collision. Landry broke three teeth as he was hit in the mouth by Nowitzki's right elbow. Landry was taken to the hospital and Nowitzki got three stitches to close a cut on his elbow and never returned.

Jose Barea had 23 points for the Mavericks, who had a five-game win streak snapped. Shawn Marion tallied 17 points and nine rebounds while Josh Howard chipped in 17 points for Dallas, which had six technical fouls in the contest.

"Their team battled. We got it to overtime. The odds were certainly stacked against us with a couple of minutes to go. In overtime, we couldn't get the ball in the basket and they hit some difficult shots," Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's a tough loss. We needed to have four or five guys to really play well tonight to get it done and we never could quite get over the hump. It's disappointing."

Nowitzki did not practice Saturday and is listed as questionable for tonight's contest.

"Its not a one-man team," Dallas point guard Jason Kidd told NBA.com when asked about Nowitzki's possible absence. "That's the beauty of this team. We have so many guys who can put the ball in the basket and play."