Mavs Lose Shooting Contest: Trail Blazers 101 Mavericks 89

The Mavericks have proven very streaky this season. Since the beginning of February, the team has lost three out of four, won 13 in a row and then dropped four out of six. The Portland Trail Blazers have been on top in nine of their last 11 games and have won all three contests with the Mavs this season.

Thursday’s 101-89 loss to the Trail Blazers was closer than the final score let on. The Mavs found themselves within one point on several occasions, but the Trail Blazers, who shot an even 50 percent for the game, quickly squashed any hope with a basket of their own to increase the lead. The Mavs finished with a shooting mark of 44.4 percent, but at times both teams threw the ball up at a mid-50’s clip.

Former UT Longhorn LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland’s offensive attack with 20 points, followed close behind by 19 from Andre Miller, 17 from Marcus Camby and 16 from Brandon Roy. Despite 19 points and 10 rebounds, Miller put up much more reasonable numbers compared to the 52 points he scored in the last meeting between the Trail Blazers and Mavs.

Caron Butler bucketed 25 points for the Mavs, while Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki each registered 15. Mask and all, Jason Terry finished with 11. Sixteen of Butler’s 25-point total came in the first half, including the last eight Maverick points leading up to the buzzer. Marion also got 11 prior to halftime, but the Mavs saw themselves down 60-54.

At the 9:51 mark of the third quarter, a Butler slam dunk tied the game at 60. But over the next four minutes, the Trail Blazers executed a 12-0 run to take a 72-60 lead. Camby scored eight during the run. A Terry 3-pointer ended it, and the Mavs put down the next seven points to pull within five. All the more proof that Mavs’ basketball is streaky.

The Mavs could not recover in the fourth as they were outscored 21-14, mostly due to Aldridge, Miller and Roy.

Other Notes

• The Mavericks shot just nine free throws for the game and made eight of them. Nowitzki was 4 for 4 from the line.
• Kidd and Terry each went 3 for 6 from long range.