----- Luka Doncic finished with 36 points and 13 assists as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 137-131 Sunday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Luka Doncic returned from a wrist injury just in time to help the Mavericks end the Trail Blazers four-game home winning streak 137-131 Sunday night at Moda Center in Portland.
With Portland (8-13) trailing by 12 early in the third quarter, Anfernee Simons took over. He scored 24 points in the third on 8-of-9 shooting including 5-of-6 from beyond-the-arc. Portland trailed by just three-points heading into the fourth. That was a career-high for points in a quarter for Simons.
Simons dealt with foul trouble for most of the game and ended up fouling out early in the fourth.
Dallas took a 112-101 after a Spencer Dinwiddie three-pointer in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers responded with a 27-15 run to tie it at 127 on Deni Avdija’s three-point play with 1:54 left.
P.J. Washington answered with a three-pointer for Dallas, and they closed the game on a 10-4 run.
Portland connected on 58.1% of their three-point attempts on 18-of-31 shooting.
The Trail Blazers committed 21 turnovers leading to 33 points for the Mavericks.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers travel to Los Angeles to meet the Clippers Tuesday night at Intuit Dome. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.
Chad's Take- Wild game and Anfernee's third quarter was a masterpiece. Turnovers and lack of defensive intensity to start the game proved costly.