Mavericks at Trail Blazers
The Dallas Mavericks have no trouble running up big early leads, they just struggle to keep their foot on the gas. The Mavericks will try to run away and hide when they visit Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Dallas held a 31-point lead in the first half of Monday’s game against the Boston Celtics but sweated out a 118-113 victory after letting the Celtics creep within one possession in the fourth quarter.
Lillard had a terrible shooting start in the first three games but turned things around with five 3-pointers as the Trail Blazers evened their record by crushing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-82 on Wednesday. “It’s the same game that I’ve been playing,” Lillard told reporters. “The only difference was the shots just went in. It was pretty simple: just play the game.” The Mavericks have won three straight since falling in San Antonio to start the season and are averaging 115.7 points in the victories.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (3-1): Dallas squandered a 17-point lead before pulling out a win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday and continued the trend with the collapse against Boston. “It’s concerning,” forward Chandler Parsons told reporters. “…I love how we never give up after we give up the lead, but we can’t allow these teams to keep coming back in and cutting our leads.” Parsons, who came over from the Houston Rockets over the summer, scored 29 points against the Celtics and is shooting 58.6 percent from the field in the Mavericks’ three wins.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (2-2): Lillard was one of the final cuts from the Team USA roster over the summer and began the season in a shooting funk, going 11-of-41 in the first three games. “I’ve been telling you guys the same thing, that I’m fine,” Lillard said to reporters. “…It just feels good to get a win because we were out of sync and we were 1-2, so to get a win and get going back in the right direction, that’s the best part about it.” The All-Star guard put up 27 points on 6-of-13 shooting in the win over Cleveland despite dealing with an abdominal strain.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks have taken four of the last five in the series, including wins in the last two trips to Portland.
2. Dallas F Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) left Monday’s game but practiced on Tuesday and is expected to play Thursday.
3. Portland C Joel Freeland (foot) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.