NBA 2018-19: Player Ratings - Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks; Doncic returns, Lillard impresses, McCollum disappoints
The Portland Trail Blazers traveled to the American Airlines Center in Dallas to take on the Dallas Mavericks in what turned out to be an extremely closely fought encounter.
Match Details:
Portland Trail Blazers (33-22) 101-102 Dallas Mavericks (26-29)
The Portland Trail Blazers had a tough time of it against the Dallas Mavericks away from home and gave it their all, falling short in the end 101-102. Buoyed by a returning Luka Doncic and a strong performance by Tim Hardaway Jr., the Mavericks erased a 15-point deficit in the final 10 minutes for a 102-101 victory.
The game was even in the 1st quarter, with the Mavericks holding a 1 point lead. But a solid 2nd quarter performance from the Blazers saw the lead swell to 10 at half time. Damian Lillard scored 21 of his 30 points in the last half of the third quarter to help the Blazers build a lead that grew to 96-81 early in the fourth before the Mavericks rallied to hand Portland a surprising loss.
The Mavericks were led by a great performance from Doncic, who responded with 28 points, shooting 9-20 from the field in a great game. He was supported really well by Tim Hardaway Jr, who scored 24 points on 50% shooting.
Dwight Powell and Finney-Smith chipped in with 13 and 11 points respectively. The team shot fairly well overall, except for guard Jalen Brunson, who just couldn't get it going from the field, shooting 25% and scoring just 5 points. Maximilian Kleber too had a bad night, scoring 9 points on 33.3% shooting.
For Portland, Damian Lillard led from the front, scoring 30 points and going 10-23 from the floor. He played really well, showing why he is one of the elite guards in the league. However, the All-Star guard missed his last four attempts as the Blazers went scoreless for 10 minutes.
Lillard was supported by Jusuf Nurkic, who scored 18 points in just 21 minutes but was limited due to foul trouble. If he had been able to stay on the floor for longer, he could have had a great night for the Blazers.
CJ McCollum had a really bad night, unable to get his shot going, finishing with just 6-17 from the field and scoring 14 points. Mo Harkless also had a poor night, shooting 2-7 from the field for just 5 points. The other players in the Blazers rotation were not up to the mark, which was their undoing in the end. Nobody could get it going apart from Lillard, and Doncic took them apart in the 4th quarter.
The Blazers now have to pick themselves up and find a way to get back on track when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma whereas the Dallas Mavericks travel to Houston to take on the Rockets in their next game.