CLEVELAND, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Jason Terry helped Dallas to a fast start Wednesday and the Mavericks opened their season with a surprisingly easy 92-74 win over Cleveland.
Terry scored 24 points and boosted Dallas to a 29-15 lead after one quarter. The Mavericks finished the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 20-point lead at intermission.
The Mavericks held the Cavaliers to 36 percent shooting for the game and allowed LeBron James only 10 points. James made two of his 11 field goal attempts.
Jerry Stackhouse added 17 points for Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki had 15. The Mavericks had the best regular-season record in the NBA last year at 67-15, but were stunned by Golden State in the opening round of the playoffs.
Dallas played without Josh Howard, who is serving a two-game suspension for an altercation he had with Sacramento's Brad Miller during an exhibition contest.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas paced Cleveland with 17 points and 18 rebounds.
