Dallas Mavericks hold off a late charge from the Portland Trail Blazers to win 97-94 - NBA Recap
On Friday night at the Rose Garden, Portland, OR, the visiting Dallas Mavericks were able to hold off a late rally from their hosts as they defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 97-94.
Portland who are most likely to miss out on the playoffs, gave the NBA Champions a run for their money as they showed off their persistence in the closing stages of the game. Here is what the Mavericks coach had to say after the
game.
"You have to give (the Blazers) credit -- they are persistent. We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes, but we survived it." -- Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle.
Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer for the Mavericks with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Shawn Marion notched up a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. He shot the ball 8 off 10 on the night. Delonte West had a good game
as well with 21 points and 7 assists to his name. He however committed a game high six turnovers.
For the Trail Blazers, Nicolas Batum had a team high of 20 points and 8 boards. J.J. Hickson had a double-double night with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Wesley Matthews contributed 15 points and Raymond Felton added 12 points as
four starters finished the night, scoring in double figures.
Jamal Crawford provided the much needed spark, coming off the bench to score 18 points which included 6 of 6 from the free throw line.
Dallas committed 21 turnovers in the game. However they made up for it by dominating the boards 51-38 with 16 of them coming on the offensive glass. Mavericks out rebounded the Blazers 30-20 in the first half which enabled them
to have an early advantage in the game.
Mavs started the game off in splendid fashion as they raced to a 9-0 lead inside two and a half minutes. They continued their onslaught for the remainder of the first period, finishing the quarter off with a score of 30-16.
The lead was further extended to 20 points within three minutes of the second quarter. However, the Blazer did offer some resistance midway through the second, as they were able to cut the lead back down to single digits with 1:44
to go in the half, 41-50. But the Mavericks ended the half on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 15 at the half way stage, 56-41.
A similar script was followed in the third quarter as the Mavericks never looked to take their foot off the pedal and by the end of the third; their advantage was back to 20 points at 81-61.
In the final quarter, Blazers tried hard to make their presence felt on both ends of the court and were able to cut the lead down to 16 with 4:11 remaining in the game.
In the next several minutes, the Blazers turned the game on its head as they rallied back ferociously. They scored 12 points till the 1:18 mark while holding the Mavericks scoreless to make it a two possession game at 89-93.
Even in the final minute of the match they outscored the Mavericks 5-4 but the overall charge from the Trail Blazers came a little too as the Mavericks held on in this one.
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