The Portland Trailblazers(25-16) backcourt carried the team on Friday night against the Mavericks. C.J. McCollum had 11 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and Damian Lillard had 31 as the Blazers defeated the Mavericks(21-19) 125-119 in the first game of their two-game set at Moda Center.
Dallas was led by Luka Doncic, who had 38 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists on Friday night.
The Mavericks had a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter and led by as much as eight in the final period, but the Blazers made the plays down the stretch. Portland took a 111-110 lead with just over four minutes left after a Carmelo Anthony dunk, and they never looked back.
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle felt that Dallas did not do enough down the stretch to get the win.
“Down the stretch, we weren’t able to get the ball in the basketball, and they made plays offensively,” Carlisle said. “They made shots, so that’s what got away from us. We’re going to have to do better on the boards, we’re going to have to do better with turnovers, and we’re going have to play better overall.”
Mavericks F/C Kristaps Porzingis struggled on Friday night. He shot 3-11 from the field and scored only 11 points. According to Doncic, the Mavericks have to get Porzingis more opportunities in the post.
“Everybody can have a bad game,” Doncic said. “Not perfect in life every day. We gotta find him more on the post, and he just got to get to work on the post.”
Carlisle added on Porzingis: “He got off to a slow start, and we have just got to involve him a little bit more.”
This was another playoff type of game against another playoff team for Dallas, so you have to be at your best to win these types of games. You do expect more out of Porzingis, However, he has been good of late. In the month of March, and not counting this game, Porzinigis is averaging 20.2 points and 10.5. So, to Doncic’s point, everybody has bad games.
Hopefully, for Dallas, Porzingis bounces back against the Blazers on Sunday night.
