The Dallas Mavericks were looking to make up for their biggest loss of the season after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves by 39 points on Thursday.

It looked like they would get a great chance to do against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, as the Cavs sat their entire starting five. Due to the FAA delays, they didn't get in until a few hours before tip-off and played the first night of a back-to-back in Miami on Friday.

Maybe the Mavericks thought this would be easy. Maybe the young Cavs reserves were eager to go and show what they have. Either way, this quickly turned embarrassing.

It was tied at 33 after the first quarter, with the Cavaliers showing they were capable of knocking down shots from all over the floor. For the record, the Cavs started with a lineup of Tyrese Proctor, Meleek Thomas, Jaylon Tyson, Mario Hezonja, and Thomas Bryant. And when Thomas Bryant is hitting threes after a shot fake, you just know it's going to be a weird game.

It's even weirder when Caleb Martin is the team's leading scorer in the first quarter.

The Mavericks had another awful second quarter, which is starting to become a theme, as the Cavs outscored Dallas 38-20. They shot just 8/21 from the field in that frame, while the Cavaliers shot 14/24.

Cleveland would build the lead as high as 21 in the third quarter. Kyrie Irving woke up and ended up scoring 20 points in the third quarter alone, which helped trim the lead to 9 briefly, but the Cavaliers instantly responded and were up by 22 early in the fourth quarter.

Kyrie Irving wouldn't let them go away, hitting a shot in the lane to cut it to 10 with just over two minutes remaining. It wouldn't get any closer than that, and the short-handed Cavs would win 127-117.

Daniel Gafford left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury, but the defense was already showing cracks. This is the second really poor defensive effort in a row, and changes might need to be made for the Mavs.

Here are three overreactions from this embarrassment.

Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg Have to Be More Aggressive Early

We've talked a lot about the Mavericks' need for a third scorer (which was also apparent in this game), but Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg just have to be more aggressive early in the game.

While Irving ended up with 34 points, he was just 1/7 in the first half. Cooper Flagg was 3/11 in the first half. Part of it was just them settling for long mid-range jumpers when they had the opportunity to draw contact on a drive. They weren't really searching for good looks, and the Mavericks need them to do that.

Flagg, in general, has to be more aggressive. There was an opportunity for him to put his head down in transition late in the game when the Mavericks really needed a bucket, but he just deferred to Irving and went to the corner. He has played at an All-Star level for most of the season, but it has been a few bad showings for him in a row.

Santi Aldama Has to Play More

You can tell that the Mavericks are still being cautious with Santi Aldama after returning from knee surgery, but he has to play more. He was the only Maverick with a positive plus/minus, and you could feel his impact on the game with his three-point shooting, especially.

Even when he wasn't making them (he was 2/5 from three), opponents respect him as a shooter. Teams don't do that for anyone else in the frontcourt, even if P.J. Washington had been shooting well this season. Aldama may have to play more out of necessity because of Gafford's injury.

Embarrassing Defensive Effort All-Around

The NBA has a lot of talented players, but the Mavericks should not have let these Cavaliers score 127 points. Mario Hezonja had 22. Tyrese Proctor had a 24-point triple-double. Rookie second-round pick Meleek Thomas had 20. Thomas Bryant had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Cavs shot 48/90 from the field and 15/40 from three. Even with 16 turnovers, this game never felt close after the second quarter, and it was because of the Mavericks' lackluster defense.

Flagg has been a little disappointing as an on-ball defender recently, and P.J. Washington hasn't done a great job of keeping the ball in front of him, either. Things are going to need to change for this defense.

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