Mavericks at Trail Blazers
Veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki put on a show on the front end of a
back-to-back with Portland and looks to follow up with another strong
game when the Dallas Mavericks visit the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Nowitzki scored 40 points in Dallas' 132-120 home overtime victory on
Sunday as the Mavericks moved within a half-game of Portland in the
tightly packed Western Conference playoff race.
Nowitzki has scored 20 or more points in eight consecutive games and he is averaging 26.8 points during the stretch. "Never underestimate greatness at any age," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. "That's what I always say about guys like him. It's not like he's just an older guy who happened to have a good game. He's been doing this on a somewhat consistent basis all year, coming up with a monster game." The victory over Portland was just the second in nine games for the Mavericks, while the Trail Blazers are also struggling with seven losses in 10 games. The Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz are also part of the four-team battle for the final three playoff spots in the West.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), KGW (Portland)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (35-35): Point guard Deron Williams had 31 points and 16 assists on Sunday to mark the third time in Dallas history that a player had 30 or more points and 15 or more assists in the same game - Jason Kidd did it the other two occasions. "You know, any time that you can do something that J-Kidd did, that says a lot," Williams told reporters. "I grew up watching him, and I grew up emulating him. I got a chance to play with him and to play under him, and so that definitely means a lot." Williams has scored 30 or more points just twice this season and both times came against the Trail Blazers.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (36-35): Reserve swingman Allen Crabbe had 24 points and made a career-best six 3-pointers on Sunday to break out of a three-game funk. Crabbe averaged 2.3 points on 3-of-13 shooting during his slump but got off to a good start against Dallas and built on it to record his fourth 20-point outing of the season. "I saw my first two go in so that kind of gave me confidence, I just kept shooting," Crabbe told reporters. "I got a lot of confidence from my teammates and the coaching staff. Regardless if I kept missing shots, whenever I came back to the bench they told me to keep shooting the ball. Don't stop and don't hesitate, just shoot it."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks are 2-0 against the Trail Blazers this season and have won four of the past five meetings.
2. Portland C Mason Plumlee had 14 points and a season-best 19 rebounds in the loss to Dallas.
3. Dallas SF Chandler Parsons (right knee) will miss his second straight game and will probably undergo season-ending surgery.