This season, the Portland Trail Blazers have triumphed over top teams.
Indeed, on December 1, they came very close to defeating the Dallas Mavericks at home.
However, it has been difficult to play in Dallas in recent years. With a 132-108 loss at the American Airlines Center on Monday night, that pattern persisted.
The Blazers’ record versus the Mavericks is 12–14. On February 14, 2021, Portland defeated Dallas 121-118 in their most recent victory.
The two losses in Dallas last season totaled 65 points. The loss on Monday night fell into that category of humiliation.
The evening started out nicely. In the first half, the Blazers’ offense kept them in the game, but the Mavericks’ offense was too strong for them to handle. Dallas led 62-53 at the half, had five players score in double figures, and shot 55.8% from the field.
“To be honest with you, I thought we had a pretty good first half,” Blazerscoach Chauncey Billups told reporters. We performed well on the glass. We had excellent offensive rebounding, in my opinion. Although we didn’t actually make any shots, we did get the kind of shots we want.
The third quarter turned the game ugly. The Mavericks led 102-76 going into the fourth quarter after outscoring Portland 40-23.
In the third quarter, Portland had nine turnovers, negating a strong shooting effort (47.6%). The Mavericks scored 13 points off of the Blazers’ mistakes and shot 56%.
“To stay in the game against a team like this, you have to make some real shots,” Billups stated.
On Monday, December 23, 2024, in Dallas, Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) drives against Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first half of an NBA basketball game. (Photo by AP/LM Otero)AP
That’s exactly what happened when the Blazers lost to Dallas at home earlier this month, 137-131. Portland made 58.1% long-range and 58.3% field goals.
Portland had a respectable field goal percentage of 46.2% on Monday night, but they only made 8 of 29 three-pointers (27.6%) and had 19 turnovers.
With 19 points off the bench, Deni Avdija led the Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and Jerami Grant scored 26 points between 12 of 33 shots. Grant only managed three points.
Perhaps the best player on the court for the Blazers was Deandre Ayton. In just over 25 minutes, he grabbed nine rebounds and scored 16 points on 8 of 11 shots.
Billups remarked, “I thought DA was really good in this game.” He had incredible enthusiasm.
Despite only making one of seven three-pointers, Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 27 points and seven assists. Daniel Gafford scored twenty-three points. Kyrie Irving scored twenty points.
IMPORTANCE OF IT
The Blazers (9-20) have now dropped eight of their last nine games after losing to Dallas (19-10) for the sixth straight game.
UPCOMING
Thursday at 7 p.m., the Blazers take on the Utah Jazz. On December 6, the Jazz (7-21) defeated the Blazers 141-99.
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Aaron J. Fentress | [email protected]|@AaronJFentress (Facebook), @AaronFentress (Instagram), and @AaronJFentress (Twitter)
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