The Dallas Mavericks take revenge for the narrow defeat against the Trail Blazers on Friday and ensure a clear balance of power with a 132:92 victory. Luka Doncic sets his career high with eight threes and only misses once from a distance.
Portland Trail Blazers (25-17) – Dallas Mavericks (22-19) 92:132 (BOXSCORE)
Doncic would have surely surpassed his 37-point performance on Friday, but was able to relax on the bench after 29 minutes of play and watch the Mavericks’ rear bench players bring the game to an end. With eight three-pointers, he had set his previous career record without awarding a throw from distance. It was not until the ninth attempt from Downtown that Doncic rejected, who also posted 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnover.
Doncic is also the second Mavs player to score at least 37 points in the first three quarters. Dirk Nowitzki also succeeded, albeit twice – against Phoenix in 2008 and against Sacramento in 2010.
“If he gets into such a rhythm and mixes the drives with the three-pointers, it’s almost impossible to defend Luka,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, praising his superstar after the game.
Dallas was very successful with 55.8 percent from the field and 51.4 percent in the collective, the Blazers, on the other hand, hardly had any success from a distance (9/41, 22 percent). Damian Lillard was already the best scorer of his team with 19 points (0/7 3P) and 4 assists, only CJ McCollum (13, 0/5 3P) as well as the reservists Gary Trent Jr. (16) and Nassir Little cracked double digits .
Josh Richardson (21, 8/11 FG), Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell (11, 4/4) were particularly convincing in the Mavericks, all 14 available players were used for at least 5 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis scored 2/4 threes for 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, Maxi Kleber also held back with 8 points and 7 rebounds at 3/4 from the field.
Dallas dominates three quarters
The Trail Blazers got off to a better start and won the first quarter with 30:27, but from then on the Mavericks played two steps better than the hosts. The second quarter went to Dallas with 38:24, as Doncic was not the only one to find his touch from a distance. The 22-year-old sank four threes and stood at 24 points at halftime.
The Mavs didn’t cool off at half-time either, instead they started with a 19-0 run and led with 84:54 after half of the third section. Portlands continued to shoot three pointers in high volume but failed to score and Terry Stott’s team couldn’t get any closer to 25 points. Dallas even increased his lead to 43 points in between.
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