LeBron James had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers avenge a lopsided loss to Dallas in the season opener by beating the Mavericks 88-81 on Thursday night. Despite the presence of James and reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki and this being a matchup of the last two NBA runners-up - enough sizzle to draw a national cable audience - the game was pretty brutal to watch. Through three quarters, Cleveland shot only 36 percent, was 0-for-10 on 3-pointers and had missed 10 free throws - yet led by six points.

The Mavericks got within one point early in the quarter and made it 81-79 with 4:43 left and James already with five fouls. But a bunch of missed 3s by Dallas followed, then James pretty much ended it with a thunderous dunk in the lane with 1:10 to go.

Nowitzki had 19 points and 20 rebounds, his most in a regular-season game since April 2003. Josh Howard had 19 points, too, but no other starter cracked double digits. The Mavs shot 36.5 percent, hurt by Jason Terry going 3-for-12 one night after going 0-for-10.

Cleveland won its second straight, snapping out of a win-lose cycle its previous six games.

Dallas lost its second straight after winning five in a row. The Mavs fell to 6-6 against the Eastern Conference and have lost 11 games overall, after dropping only 15 last season.

Written By JAIME ARON