PORTLAND, Ore. — At times Wednesday night, the Mavericks’ performance against the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t appear more cohesive or rhythmic than in their season-worst 38-point loss to the Warriors a night earlier.
But that didn’t matter to Dallas.
What did: The Mavericks beat Portland 132-112.
Luka Doncic logged his sixth triple-double of the season with 15 points, a season-high-tying 15 assists and 10 rebounds while shooting 4 of 11 from the field in 37 minutes, while Kristaps Porzingis led with 22 points.
The victory — Dallas’ 12th in the last 15 games — ensured their month-long streak of no losing streaks continued and that, at least for one night, their second unit weathered the indefinite absence of Tim Hardaway Jr., who fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot against Golden State.
Hardaway, with his boot and crutches, watched from the second row of the bench as seven Mavericks scored in double-figures and all starters finished the game sidelined, this time a lopsided victory in hand.
The Mavericks had developed a pattern since they beat Portland 132-117 a month ago, and they were intent on keeping it intact Wednesday.
Dallas hasn’t lost two games in a row since Dec. 23-25, in the throes of their 11-player COVID-19 outbreak.
Allow a game-winning buzzer beater to a Kings reserve in late December? Stifle Sacramento two days later.
Fall flat in New York earlier this month? Squash the Grizzlies’ franchise-long winning streak to finish the road trip.
That’s what Jason Kidd reminded his team before facing the Trail Blazers after arriving in Portland in the early hours of Wednesday morning, fresh off their throttling at Golden State.
“Whenever you look at teams that don’t lose two in a row, they tend to be in the Finals or be close to getting into the Finals,” Kidd said. “Those are the elite teams. … If you have that mentality, that can put you in a special place, and hopefully we’re working toward that.”
Dallas heeded the message again.
Doncic and Porzingis entered with more energy than a typical back-to-back because Kidd decided to sit Doncic the entire fourth quarter of Tuesday’s blowout, and Porzingis was ejected less than four minutes into the final period for a costly kick of the ball into the crowd.
It showed early.
Porzingis tied his highest-scoring first quarter of the season with 14 points, including three dunks, and he and Doncic combined for 24 of the Mavericks’ 40 first-quarter points.
When Luka swished a stepback three, drawing a foul, too, with 5.7 seconds left in the period, the Mavericks appeared primed for another dominant roll through Moda Center.
The Trail Blazers, down three starters, including All-Star Damian Lillard, however, answered over the next two quarters.
They outscored Dallas — and the NBA’s No. 1 defense in January — 34-28 in the second quarter, and pulled within four points (80-76) with 4:48 left in the third as Dallas’ offense stalled.
But Doncic and Jalen Brunson, who tied a career-high with 11 assists, created looks and generated ball movement throughout the game, and Kidd’s experiments with new rotation looks in Hardaway’s absence helped weather Portland’s push.
Doncic, for example, played the first 17 minutes straight, his first time in the regular season playing more than a full regulation quarter without a sub, and had logged 34 by the end of the third quarter.
Reserve center Marquese Chriss added five points in four second-quarter minutes. The Mavericks’ defense received a boost in the third quarter when Josh Green and Frank Ntilikina entered to help end the period on an 18-5 run to ensure Dallas led by double-digits the entire fourth quarter.
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