CLEVELAND -- Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue warned people for weeks that the Cavaliers weren't playing up to their potential.

They might have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but they were still leaving a lot of points on the court.

Not anymore.

Kevin Love had 27 points and 10 rebounds and stayed hot from the 3-point line in the Cavs' 128-90 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 11 assists, and Tristan Thompson had 11 points and 12 rebounds. None of them played the fourth quarter in a game that was long over by halftime.

"They're the same shots we've been getting," Lue said. "But guys are making them now."

A 3-pointer from Love, one of seven he made Friday, extended the lead to 68-28 in the second quarter. One game after he scored 34 points in the first quarter on Wednesday, Love made seven more 3-pointers to give him 15 in the last two games. He has made 18 through the first 12 games of the season.

Love spent time watching film with Cavs assistant coach Phil Handy and realized he was hesitating too long on his open shots or sometimes bypassing them altogether to try and get into the lane and draw a foul. He has worked the last couple of games to just catch and shoot.

"So many guys close out to me so hard, but having my size I'm able to get the ball off quick if I just catch and shoot," he said. "I think I saw that and I've been able to do that. That's only going to open up more for everybody. Feels good right now."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points, Seth Curry had 13 off the bench and Andrew Bogut grabbed 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who lost their eighth straight. It is Dallas' longest losing streak since it lost 15 in a row during the 1997-98 season -- the year before Nowtizki entered the NBA.

"It was a horrible performance by us and a great performance by them," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We simply must play better. We must compete better. It's very disappointing."

Nowitzki just recently returned from an Achilles injury and starting point guard Deron Williams has battled a strained calf that has cost him eight games this season.

The Mavericks dragged the league's worst record into Friday's game primarily because of injuries. This marked just the fourth time all season they played with their projected starting lineup, but it didn't matter.

The 16 points Dallas scored in the first quarter were the fewest for any Cleveland opponent this season. The 38 points the Mavericks managed at the half matched the fewest scored in any half against the Cavs this season.

"They're a good team. We just gave them a little bit too much," Nowitzki said. "We gave them the drives. We gave them offensive rebounds. We gave them wide open 3s. Offensively, we just couldn't get enough going to make this a competitive game."

The Cavs averaged 132.5 points in wins this week over the Portland Trail Blazers and Mavericks.

They led by as many as 45 in the second half Friday and have now won their last three games by an average of 24 points.

"That's what we're capable of, and we've been doing it on both ends the last couple games," James said. "Obviously, people are going to look at the shooting, the way we're shooting the 3-ball right now, but defensively we stepped it up more now. That's the good thing for me, what I like to see.

"We're a team where at the end we're going to have to defend and move the ball offensively and then everything else kind of trickles down from there. It's been some good ball as of late."

NOTES: Cavs F/C Channing Frye has been excused from the team after the death of his father. Frye's mother died less than a month ago. "On a day for thanks. Be thankful for the person next to you," Frye wrote on his Instagram account. "Y'all better love on your family." ... The Cavs will attend Saturday's Ohio State-Michigan game in Columbus as a team, marking the first version of The Game the LeBron James will see live. He is a huge Ohio State fan who supplied players with versions of his Nike LeBrons for the game. ... Mavericks G Deron Williams returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a strained left calf. ... Injuries have forced the Mavericks to use 11 different starting lineups in their first 15 games.