Impending Dismantling? Mavs vs. Blazers GAMEDAY
The Dallas Mavericks look to hand the Portland Trail Blazers their 10th-straight loss Friday night at American Airlines Center. The Mavs (50-30) are also gunning to improve their NBA playoff seeding, with a chance to catch the Golden State Warriors (51-29) for the third seed in the Western Conference.
Currently in fourth place in the West, Dallas' playoff berth is secured. Potential first round matchups for Luka Doncic and the Mavs are between the Utah Jazz (48-32) and the Denver Nuggets (48-33).
Doncic is certainly having an MVP-caliber season, recording a triple-double and six double-doubles in his last eight games. Over his last 28 games, Doncic is averaging 32.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game, while shooting 48 percent from the floor, including 40 percent from 3-point range.
Portland has shut down Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic. The young, retooling team is led by Drew Eubanks, who had 20 points in Thursday's 127-94 loss at New Orleans. He has 15 straight games with double-figure points.
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David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
As a result of the Mavericks' 131-113 win over the Detroit Pistons, the team accomplished a feat they haven't achieved since 2014-15 by notching 50 wins.
“I think it’s pretty impressive,” Doncic said. “I know we started the season a little bit slow. But in the end, it’s 82 games. It’s a long season. You’re going to have ups and downs. But I’m proud of how we played and hopefully we’ll get to 52.”
FLASHBACK: Dallas leads the season series (2-0) having won the first two meetings on the road.
RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (50-30) VS. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (27-52)
WHEN: Friday, April 8, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. CT
LOCATION: American Airlines Center (Dallas, TX)
TV/RADIO: BSSW, 97.1 The Eagle (KEGL)
DALLAS INJURY REPORT: Marquese Chriss (illness, non-Covid) is out; Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) is out; Maxi Kleber (right ankle soreness) is out.
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Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
ODDS: The Mavs are 19.5-point favorites over the Blazers, which is a franchise record.
NEXT: Next, the Mavs finish the regular season with a home game against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.
LAST WORD: Coach Jason Kidd on the supporting cast accepting roles complementary to Doncic, who is a reigning two-time All-NBA first-team player.
“Those guys in that locker room can’t take that lightly... We truly believe we’re a team. We play offensively together and defensively, we help each other. We understand that Luka is a big part of this team, but the guys are playing their role at a very high level."
