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PORTLAND, OR–Returning to Portland for the first time since rupturing his Achilles back in March in a game, Wes Matthews returned to the Moda Center with something to prove. Matthews said before the game he was excited to show the fans of Portland how well he had recovered since his injury and tonight he showed just that, finishing the game with a solid performance, scoring 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting enroute to a 115-112 Dallas Mavericks (11-8) victory over the Portland Trail Blazers (7-12).
When he was introduced to the home crowd, Matthews was greeted with a warm reception.
“These fans have been mazing to me since I got here,” Matthews said after the game. “It meant a lot.
Prior to the game, Matthews let it known that he was going to forgo his signature bow and arrow celebration out of respect for Portland, where he became a fan favorite in his five seasons with the team. While Matthews decided to keep his usBut that didn’t stop Dirk Nowitzki, from paying homage to Matthews. Early in the first quarter, Nowitzki paid tribute to him, following a three-point basket at the top of the key.
Check out Dirk paying tribute to Wesley Matthews following his three-pointer! https://t.co/FmN17l9ROF
— DallasSportsFanatic (@Dallas_Fanatic) December 2, 2015
Coming into tonight’s contest, the major storyline was all about Matthews’ return to Portland, but that was all overshadowed by another vintage performance by the ‘Uberman’ himself, Dirk Nowitzki, after he finished the game with 28 points. At age 37, Nowitzki continues to put together one of best shooting seasons of his career, converting 50 percent from the field including a career-high and league leading 45 percent from three.
Up by as much as 15 points in the first half the Dallas Mavericks finished with a solid 46 percent shooting, but struggled to close the half after going cold offensively. The Blazers exploded with a 34-point second quarter, led by guard Gerald Henderson who matched his season-high in scoring 12 points in the second quarter alone, capped with a buzzer beating three to give Portland their first lead of the game going into halftime.
Zaza Pachulia continued to be a pleasant surprise for the Mavs at center, finishing with his 12th double-double of the season, with 14 points and a game-high 21 rebounds.
“He’s just real smart in there. He uses his body and he’s a little more athletic than he appears,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s quick to the ball and his strength and timing is really uncanny.”
Coming out of the halftime, the Mavs allowed the Blazers worked their lead up to 11 points. Despite not hitting a single three-point basket in the third quarter the Mavs managed a late quarter run and found themselves up one headed in to the fourth led by 8 points in the period by Deron Williams. Down 11 points with over four minutes to go, the Mavs utilized a 7-0 run at the end of the fourth, capped by a Nowitzki tip-in with 6 seconds to go to tie the game and eventually send the game into overtime. Lilliard’s missed a last second heave following a Blazers’ timeout.
Despite continuing to deal with a stomach issue that limited him to just 17 minutes the previous night, Lillard played a team-high41 minutes, scoring a team-high 25 points to go along with 10 assists.
In overtime, in was the Deron Williams show. The Blazers could practially do nothing to stop him offensively, as he drove to the basket with confidence, finishing the quarter with 8 points to lead the Mavs to victory. Williams finished the night with a season-high 30 points to go along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds.
Notes:
- The Mavericks held the Trail Blazers starting front court to just one field goal and just 3 points.
- Zaza Pachulia matched is career-high with 21 rebounds.
- Former Mavs forward Al Farqou-Aminu went scoreless on two field goal attemps in 18 minutes of play
- The Mavs continue to struggle from behind the arc, converting just 31 percent (9 of 29). They have the fourth worst shooting percentage (31%) from three in the NBA.
Up Next:
The Dallas Mavericks now have two days off before welcoming the Houston Rockets to the American Airlines Center on Friday. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm CT and the game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest.
Quotes credit of ESPNDallas.com, Associated Press
