Trail Blazers 109, Mavericks 103
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard compiled 27 points, six assists and six rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-103 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
Ed Davis came off the bench to score all of his 16 points in the first half to go with nine rebounds for the Trail Blazers (37-35), who maintained their hold on sixth place in the tight Western Conference playoff race with the win.
Former Blazer Wesley Matthews scored 22 points for Dallas, which lost for the sixth time in the last nine games. Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and nine rebounds, Salah Mejri collected 14 points and 12 boards, and Deron Williams contributed 12 points and 11 assists for the Mavericks (35-36).
Davis led Portland to a 57-53 halftime lead. Lillard contributed 11 points and five assists in the half for the Blazers. Matthews had 14 points for the Mavericks at the break.
Portland scored the first five points of the third quarter to go ahead 62-53, but the Mavericks hung in, closing within 68-64 on a Matthews 3-pointer. The Blazers answered with eight straight points to make it 76-64. They had an 83-73 edge heading into the final period.
The difference was 93-78 after a fastbreak dunk by Portland's Al-Farouq Aminu with 7:45 remaining.
The Mavericks rallied, and Matthews' sixth 3-pointer of the game brought them to within 101-95 with 1:44 to play.
After Portland's Allen Crabbe and Nowitzki traded triples, Lillard sank a pair of free throws to give Portland a 106-98 lead with 26 seconds to go. Nowitzki converted a three-point play with 18.7 seconds left to make it 106-101. CJ McCollum then wrapped it up with two foul shots for the Blazers with 15.8 ticks left.
Mo Harkless scored 10 points to stake Portland to a 28-26 lead after one quarter.
The Blazers increased the advantage to 41-34 early in the second quarter, but Matthews drew the Mavericks even at 45-45 with six consecutive points.
NOTES: Both teams struggled lately. Portland improved to 4-7 in its past 11 games, and Dallas fell to 3-6 in its past nine. ... Dallas was without F Chandler Parsons (knee), who could be lost for the season. Parsons also missed Sunday's 132-120 overtime win over Portland. ... Portland F Meyers Leonard (shoulder) sat out his fourth consecutive game. ... During the previous 10 games, Portland opponents averaged 116.7 points. In the previous eight, Blazers foes shot .490 from the field and .467 from 3-point range. ... C Salah Mejri, a 29-year-old rookie from Tunisia, had 13 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots in 32 minutes off the bench in the Mavericks' victory Sunday. ... Dallas coach Rick Carlisle on playing Portland back-to-back: "It's like a mini-playoff series."