Trail Blazers 108, Mavericks 87
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points and Damian Lillard added 18 as Portland dominated the second half to run away from visiting Dallas.
C.J. McCollum added 13 points off the bench and Wesley Matthews and Chris Kaman scored 12 apiece for the Trail Blazers, who have won their last two games by a combined 40 points. Nicolas Batum struggled to 2-of-8 from the floor but filled up the box score with eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Portland.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 points to lead the Mavericks, who were outscored 62-37 after the break. Monta Ellis added 14 points and Chandler Parsons scored 11 as Dallas’ three-game winning streak came to an end.
The Mavericks took a 50-46 lead into the break but the third-quarter woes that have plagued the team of late crept up again as Portland opened the period with a 19-5 run to grab a double-digit lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Batum and Matthews pushed the lead to 71-59 with 4:35 left in the third, and the Trail Blazers led by as much as 15 points before taking an 81-68 advantage into the final quarter.
Kaman’s putback stretched the lead to 88-70 and Lillard scored 10 straight points for Portland as the lead swelled to 24 points before both sides emptied the benches. Dallas entered the game tops in the NBA in both scoring (111.8) and field-goal percentage (52.4) but shot 36.7 percent against the Blazers.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Mavericks let a 17-point lead against New Orleans and a 31-point edge against Boston slip away due to poor third quarters before pulling both games out down the stretch. … Lillard hit all five of his free-throw attempts and is 27-of-28 from the line on the season. … Play was halted with 7:22 left in the game when a fan was given CPR and taken out of the arena on a stretcher.