PORTLAND, OR, Jan. 15 (US): Damian Lillard scored 36 points and 10 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers ended a five-game losing streak with a 136-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Jusuf Nurkic added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who face the Mavericks again Sunday night, the Associated Press reports.
Spencer Dinwiddie led Dallas with 25 points. Luka Doncic dropped 15 points on the season before Mavericks coach Jason Kidd pulled him down with seven minutes left.
Lillard said of the end of the losing streak. “I’ve been saying, when your mind is right and you’re pushing, everyone pulls the rope in the same direction, you find your way to where you need to get to. And a lot of times, all it takes is one.”
Portland led by as many as 20 points early in the second half and entered the fourth quarter up 106-90. Nurkic sank to give the Blazers a 116-94 lead with 9:59 left.
Doncic and Lillard got into a heated exchange before Lillard scored to give the Blazers a 122-102 lead. Tim Hardaway Jr. left the court shortly beforehand and limped into the locker room with what appeared to be an injured left ankle.
The Mavs have already been plagued by injuries, with Josh Green, Maxi Kleiber and Dorian Feeney Smith all out.
“Hopefully we’ll get well soon, but until then we have to play with the guys in uniform,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said.
Lillard started, but was listed as questionable before the game after rolling his ankle early in Portland’s 119-113 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday. Lillard came out and scored 11 points in the first quarter against the Mavs.
Dallas was coming off a double-overtime 119-115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The win snapped a two-game losing skid.
Christian Wood was ruled out before the match due to a sore right ankle. Wood played 48 minutes against the Lakers, scoring 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
Portland gained a 31-30 advantage after the first period. The Mavericks kept it close by making eight out of 13 3-point attempts.
And he took advantage while Doncic was resting in the second quarter, and Shedon Sharp’s three-pointer, Nurkic’s free throw and Portland’s free throw made it 47-36.
Lillard’s 3-pointer put the Blazers ahead 65-49 and they went on to lead 71-56 at halftime. Lillard finished the half with 24 points, while Doncic scored five.
“We got hacked,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “We played much better. We were really, really aggressive defensively and that kind of fueled us.”
Tip-ins
Mavericks: Kidd was asked if he would skip playing college ball under a G-league, like Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy. He joked, “I would have left in the eighth grade.” … Dwight Powell had bad trouble early on, collecting his fourth with 2:48 left in the first half.
Trail Blazers: Portland lost the first two games of the series to the Mavericks this season, both in Dallas. Doncic averaged 37.5 points against the Blazers. … With his fifth assist of the night, Lillard moved into second place on the Blazers’ career list, ahead of Clyde Drexler. Lillard is already the most prolific scorer on the team.
next one:
The Trail Blazers and Mavericks meet again on Sunday night, completing the series of four matches between the two teams this season. “One shop here in Portland,” Kidd said. “We’re here for two games and then we don’t see them again. We’re done with them the day after tomorrow.”