The Dallas Mavericks (22-19) got revenge against the Portland Trailblazers (25-17) in the form of a 40-point flogging, finishing with a score of 132-92 after Dame D.O.L.L.A. cashed in last Friday on a go-ahead bucket, adding to his game icing portfolio.
This go around, Dame Time must have been on snooze, as by the time the fourth quarter rolled around the Mavs had built a 103-69 lead and deployed the rookies for likely the most court action they’ve seen all season.
Dallas also welcomed back starter and top defender Dorian Finney-Smith after the birth of his son, who played a large part in stifling the Trailblazer’s offense and ending their streak of 10-made three-pointers in 54 straight games tonight.
Luka-motive full speed ahead
Luka Doncic has hit his stride after beginning the season wildly inefficiently with a 9% three-point shooting percentage in December and then still below league-average at 33% in January.
That percentage jumped to 43.5% in February and has leveled off to 36.9% in March, but Luka Magic was on full display again in the final matchup against the Blazers, canning eight straight shots from deep after finally missing his ninth attempt in only three quarters of action.
Luka Doncic in blowout over Blazers: 37 points, 13-19 FG, 8-9 3s in 30 minutes. Rick Carlisle: "When he’s in that rhythm and is mixing in the drives and the 3s, he’s virtually impossible to deal with."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 22, 2021
Good looks were abundant all night for Doncic beyond the arc due in large part by scoring three easy buckets in the paint in the opening minutes by easily posting up Lillard and Gary Trent Jr.
Once the Portland guards were worried about giving up the paint to Luka and Co. with such ease, the runaway train could no longer be stopped.
Dallas downs 53% of three-point attempts
Luka wasn’t the only Maverick making shots from behind the line, as three starters finished the night at 50%.
Kristaps Porzingis and Josh Richardson shot 2/4 and Dorian Finney-Smith downed 3/6 after returning to the team following the birth of his son Aysen.
Maxi Kleber connected on 3/4 to round out the starting five shooting a whopping 17/26 (65.4%) from distance.
Tim Hardaway Jr. only hit 1/5, but when the starters are firing away at a hula-hoop, plus Luka is going bananas, it wasn’t a problem tonight.
Blazers big three shoot 0/16 from deep
The Mavs now have two exceptionally large wins against two significant Western Conference foes they may see down the line come playoffs in the Blazers tonight and in a 124-73 win over the LA Clippers Dec. 27.
The defensive intensity and individual awareness has increased greatly over the last few weeks of action, but an 0/16 performance from Portland’s three most notable players in Lillard, CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony is just plain bad luck on their end.
With that being said, Dallas did a nice job hedging pick and roll action between Lillard and Kanter to close off driving lanes and impede passing angles.
A 3-and-D mentality for the Mavs during an upcoming stretch of very winnable games through the end of March and sprinkled in April will be the key to moving up in the standings.
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