PORTLAND, OREGON — After a close loss on Friday the Mavericks redeemed themselves defeating the Trailblazers by 40 points 132-92 in a game that was explosive on offense and commendable on defense. The Mavericks games on both ends complimented one another.
It was a frustrating start to the first quarter for the Mavericks on the offensive end. Dallas knocked down 45% of their shots from the field and only one player scored more than a singular basket and that player was Luka Doncic. It was Luka or bust and the rest of the roster struggled with converting on shots from the field. Doncic scored 12 first quarter points on 4 out of 7 shooting and didn’t miss one shot from three. Despite the slow start the Mavericks found themselves in a manageable position at the end of the first quarter trailing the Blazers by 3 points.
Like the previous two matchups, Damian Lillard matched Doncic’s scoring efforts in the first quarter scoring 11 points and CJ McCollum was the second leading scorer for the Blazers scoring 6 first quarter points. Portland shot 55% from the field in the first quarter playing well scoring high percentage shots but struggled from beyond the arc which is an area they thrived in on Friday.
In the second quarter the Mavericks offense caught fire all thanks to Luka Doncic and his performance. Doncic scored 12 second quarter points and had another streaky percentage from the field and converted on 71% of his shots and played a part in getting his teammates involved. Doncic’s 2 man Josh Richardson got it going in the second quarter scoring 9 second quarter points after scoring 3 in the first, and Tim Hardaway Jr provided a steady presence off the bench.
The Trailblazer’s offense took a step back in the second quarter and converted on 41% of their shots from the field and still struggled from the three point line. The Mavericks took advantage of an off-kilter performance from the Trailblazer’s and went into the half with a 65-54 11 point lead.
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks put on an offensive onslaught in the third quarter having arguably their continuative quarter of the season. Everything worked in the Mavericks favor and increased their 11 point lead they held at half to 34 points. Luka Doncic continued his dominant performance on the night and converted on 4 of his 5 shot attempts with all of his shots coming from beyond the arc. Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber came up big for the Mavericks scoring 21 points combined through three quarters and converted on 56% of their shot attempts in the second giving the Mavericks the much needed boost to separate heading into the fourth.
Dallas reaped the benefits of a poor shooting performance from the Blazers who converted on 27% of their shots from the field making 6 out of 22 shots from the field. Dallas was successful in negating Portland’s offense that played so well the first two times they played.
The Mavericks were in full control and once their lead reached 40 points they subbed in most of the bench players and finished off the Trailblazers. Dallas shut down Portland on the defensive end the second half and didn’t give them any easy shots. If you pair that with offensive dominance 9 times out of 10 it will lead to victory.
Luka Doncic tied his career high for three pointers made and finished the game with 37 points, Josh Richarson was second in scoring with 21 points, and 5 players finished in double figures to end the night. Tonight was about offense, but it was also about defense. The Mavericks had a balanced playing style and gave up little on the defensive end but applied pressure on offense making the perfect recipe for success and shined a light on the potential this team has even late in the season. Their potential will continue to be put to the test when they play their next 5 out of 6 games on the road with their next home game coming up Friday against the Pacers.
