SB Nation Dallas - Mavericks Hang On, Defeat Portland 84-81https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48887/dallas-fave.png2011-01-04T23:38:20-06:00http://dallas.sbnation.com/rss/stream/16780972011-01-04T23:38:20-06:002011-01-04T23:38:20-06:00Mavs Hang On, Beat Portland 84-81
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<p>(Sports Network) – <span>Jason Terry</span> hit several key shots down the stretch and finished with 18 points, as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> held on for an 84-81 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blazersedge.com/">Portland Trail Blazers</a> at American Airlines Center.</p>
<p><span>DeShawn Stevenson</span> contributed 18 points and <span>Tyson Chandler</span> finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, which was playing again without superstar <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, who missed his fifth straight game with a sprained right knee.</p>
<p>The Mavericks have won two straight and improved to 19-4 in their last 23 games overall.</p>
<p>Dallas got a bit of bad news prior to the game, as forward <span>Caron Butler</span> is expected to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon, which was suffered in Saturday’s loss to Milwaukee.</p>
<p><span>LaMarcus Aldridge</span> ended with 28 points and 10 boards, but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer for the Trail Blazers, who had won two straight and six of eight coming into the contest. <span>Marcus Camby</span> finished with a game-high 20 rebounds to go with 10 points in defeat.</p>
<p>Trailing 72-71 with 6:13 to play in the fourth, <span>Patrick Mills</span>’ driving lay in, a turnaround hook shot and two free throws from Aldridge put Portland in front 77-72 with nearly 4 1/2 minutes left.</p>
<p>Dallas then responded with a Chandler layup and corner three from Terry to even things at 77-77 with 2:34 on the clock. After a Trail Blazers time out and missed three, Terry connected on a midrange jumper to give the Mavericks a two-point advantage a minute later.</p>
<p>Stevenson and <span>Wesley Matthews</span> exchanged threes before Terry hit a pullback jumper for an 84-81 game with only 12.9 seconds left.</p>
<p>Out of a Portland timeout following the basket, the Blazers nearly turned the ball over, but it went out of bounds back to the visitors with 3.7 seconds left. Aldridge received the inbound pass on the right side and threw up an off-balanced attempt from beyond the arc that was well off the mark as time expired.</p>
<p>“The one thing we can do as team is get better defensively,” Mavericks head coach <span>Rick Carlisle</span> said. “Other than the first few minutes of the game, I thought we really battled, we played a really gritty type of game, and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”</p>
<p>After each side played to a 24-24 tie in the opening quarter, <span>Jason Kidd</span>’s three-pointer with 4:28 left before the half put the Mavericks up 38-33.</p>
<p>Down by four, Aldridge pulled the Trail Blazers even at 40-all with a jumper and dunk with 9.9 seconds remaining. However, Stevenson’s was fouled from beyond the arc just prior to the buzzer and made all three at the stripe to give Dallas the edge heading into the break.</p>
<p>The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the third with neither side able to pull away. Then tied at 56-all after a Terry jumper with 3:26 left in the period, the lead exchanged hands before Stevenson’s driving layup and free throw had the Mavs up 62-60 after three quarters.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>Portland has now dropped 13 of its last 15 against the Mavericks in Dallas…The Mavericks, who shot 42.9 percent from the field, improved to 14-6 at home this season, while Portland fell to 6-14 on the road…The Blazers made 41.8 percent of their shots.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/dallas-mavericks/2011/1/4/1915878/mavs-hang-on-beat-portland-84-81JP Starkey2011-01-04T15:56:15-06:002011-01-04T15:56:15-06:00Injured Mavericks Host Trail Blazers
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<p>(Sports Network) - The <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Mavericks</a> may be without two scoring threats when they begin a three-game homestand tonight versus the <a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Portland Trail Blazers</a> at American Airlines Center.</p>
<p>Superstar Dirk Nowitzki has missed four straight games with a sprained right knee suffered in last Monday's loss at Oklahoma City and is listed as questionable tonight. He is averaging 24.1 points and 7.4 rebounds this season. <span>Caron Butler</span> did not play in Sunday's 104-95 win at Cleveland because of a potentially serious knee ailment and is out indefinitely. Butler's averaging 15.0 points this season.</p>
<p><span>Shawn Marion</span> picked up the slack in the win over the <a href="https://www.fearthesword.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cavaliers</a> with 22 points and <span>DeShawn Stevenson</span> added 21 for Dallas, which ended a three-game slide and got 14 points and 14 rebounds from Tyson Chandler. Jason Terry netted 18 points off the bench in a winning effort. The Cavaliers committed 15 turnovers that resulted in 20 Dallas points.</p>
<p>"This was a much-needed win for us, with what happened with Caron last night and the tough game," said Mavericks head coach <span>Rick Carlisle</span>. "It's been a tough 24 hours. But the guys came together and battled hard."</p>
<p>The Mavericks, who are 18-4 in their last 22 games overall and 17-0 when scoring 100-plus points, will also host the <a href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Thunder</a> and <a href="https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Magic</a> on the homestand and own a 13-6 record in Big D this season. They have lost back-to-back home games, however.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Blazers will commence a three-game road trip tonight through Dallas, Houston and Minnesota, and are 6-13 as the guest this season.</p>
<p>The Trail Blazers have won two straight and six of eight games, including Sunday's 100-85 victory over the <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockets</a> in which <span>LaMarcus Aldridge</span> had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. <span>Nicolas Batum</span> added 21 points, while <span>Wesley Matthews</span> and <span>Patrick Mills</span> both scored 14 for the Blazers, who earned their eighth straight victory at home.</p>
<p>"We did a good job executing the game plan and defensively (did) a nice job of being physical," said Blazers head coach <span>Nate McMillan</span>.</p>
<p>Matthews is averaging 19.2 points in 21 starts this season. Patty Mills notched career highs of 14 points and five steals off the bench in a winning cause for the Blazers, who outscored the Rockets, 25-14, in the third quarter and led by as many as 23 points in the final stanza.</p>
<p>The Blazers, who continue to toil without All-Star guard <span>Brandon Roy</span> because of knee issues, suffered a 103-98 loss in Dallas on Dec. 15 this season. Nowitzki scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mavs, who are 20-5 in the previous 25 matchups between the teams.</p>
<p>Portland has dropped 12 of 14 and 15 of its last 18 trips to Big D.</p>
https://dallas.sbnation.com/2011/1/4/2327491/injured-mavericks-host-trail-blazersJP Starkey