Mavericks at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are fresh off an emotional comeback victory on the road and will be on the court again Thursday when they host the Dallas Mavericks. Portland faced a 10-point deficit with under three minutes left in regulation Wednesday before finishing with a flurry and notching a 98-93 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The victory elevated the Trail Blazers to third place in the Western Conference, while the Mavericks are tied for fifth with the Clippers.
Dallas, which has split two games with Portland this season, is an unbelievable 30-0 when leading after three quarters. “We’ve been decent with leads,” forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. “We get in trouble when we have suspect first halves and we need to chase all game, and then we run out of gas in the fourth. But we’re usually pretty good when we take the lead.” Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard collected a career-best 18 rebounds against the Clippers but had just five points on 1-of-13 to snap a streak of scoring in double figures in 58 straight games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (40-22): Power forward Amar’e Stoudemire continues to adjust to his role and put forth a good effort during Monday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans with 14 points in 23 minutes off the bench. It was his second 14-point outing in four games since joining Dallas, and Stoudemire expects his production to improve as he learns the system and his responsibilities. “It takes a lot of studying and it takes communication to be able to get things figured out,” Stoudemire told reporters. “But I think for the most part we’ve been able to work hand-in-hand, be positive throughout the entire situation and it’s been working for us.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (40-19): Small forward Nicolas Batum was a late-game hero against the Clippers by draining the tying 3-pointer in regulation and then contributing five points, three assists and a blocked shot in overtime, including a 3-pointer that all but sealed the win with 21.1 seconds left. “My job with this coach with this team the last three years is I have to do a little bit of everything on the court,” Batum told reporters after the club’s fourth straight win. Batum was just 3-of-12 from the field over the previous two games before scoring 20 points and making 4-of-8 from 3-point range against Los Angeles to reach 20 for the first time since Feb. 5.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has won 29 of the past 40 regular-season meetings with the Trail Blazers.
2. Mavericks C Tyson Chandler (hip) might play after a three-game absence while SF Chandler Parsons (ankle) will miss his sixth consecutive outing.
3. Portland PF LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 28 points and 13.3 rebounds over the past three games.