Portland Trail Blazers forward Trendon Watford (2) stares the ball down during a free throw against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center. PMG PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ
Portland Trail Blazers forward Trendon Watford (2) stares the ball down during a free throw against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center. PMG PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ
The defense remains a big issue for the Portland Trail Blazers (16-13), who fell on the road to the Dallas Mavericks 130-110 on Friday night.
The Blazers held things in check in the first quarter, winning the first 12 minutes 32-31 thanks to a solid show from Jusuf Nurkic and Damian Lillard each grabbing nine points.
Christian Wood came off the Mavericks bench and started going off offensively however in the second quarter, putting up 15 points in the frame.
That helped inspire Mavs star Luka Doncic to find his rhythm and he chipped in another 11 to help Dallas take a 72-63 lead into halftime. Portland stayed in it thanks to what appeared to be another stellar night from Lillard who had 21 at the break.
The third quarter wouldn’t see the same offensive output from the Blazers however while the Mavericks kept it rolling, out scoring Portland 38-22 in the third.
Doncic and Wood stayed hot while Lillard only hit one 3-pointer to blow the game open at that point heading into the fourth.
Donic finished with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds while Wood had 32 points and 12 rebounds.
Nurkic couldn’t maintain his strong first half and finished with 16 points and six rebounds for the game. Lillard led the way scoring with 24 points and now sits 46 points away from breaking the Blazers all-time scoring mark, held by Clyde Drexeler with 18,040 points as a Blazer.
It’s a quick Texas turnaround as Portland heads to Houston for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.
Standout stats
Wat a night: If there was any bright spot for Portland, it was the play of Trendon Watford off the bench, who seriously flirted with a triple-double. The backup forward had 16 points along with 11 rebounds and handed out six assists. Watford has been a solid connector on offense for Portland in the time he does get on the floor, helping create some open looks for others often that lends itself to more of the hockey assists. But against Dallas he helped finish off plays by either finding guys or doing it himself.
From deep: The biggest difference in the game came from beyond the arc. Portland knocked down 13 triples and shot 35.1% from deep while Dallas hit 18 triples and shot 41.9% from there. The 15-point difference there is hard to overcome and the Blazers didn’t get to the foul line anymore than the Mavericks and missed more free throws.
Middle quarters: Giving up 79 points between the second and third quarter is not the recipe for winning basketball. Portland continues to struggle defensively after starting the year looking promising on that end. Teams have figured out Billups’ scheme and taken advantage, especially from beyond the arc. Portland still has the guys to keep up scoring, but turning some of these games into wins will take that extra effort on the other end.
Game grade: D
Things started out well, but Portland, still, needs to adjust defensively. There’s been too many easy 3-pointers given up in the last 15 games or so and Lillard or Simons can’t bail the Blazers out every time to keep the game close. Friday was a night where neither could get cooking in the second half and the Blazers saw their deficit balloon. It’s the same song and dance for Blazers fans who hope Gary Payton II can return any time soon to try and help slow things down at the perimeter. But until he’s back, and even when he is playing again, there’s quite a bit to improve.
I'm Pamplin Media Group's managing sports editor, overseeing our sports sections across our entire network. On top of that, I help the Portland Tribune by covering the Portland Trail Blazers and local high school sports. From Colorado, I enjoy the lack of snow in Portland and enjoy a night out perusing the next big food truck.
