Notebook: Trail Blazers Stave Off Comeback For Hard-Earned Win Over Mavericks
The Trail Blazers hold off Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in crunch time for their fourth straight win, and one of their most impressive of the season.
Notes, analysis, observations and more from the Trail Blazers' hard-earned 121-118 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, one of their impressive wins of the season.
- Are you breathing? Just making sure before you take another gander at Luka Doncic's wide-open, game-tying look from three on the Mavericks' final possession.
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- Doncic was absolutely brilliant on Sunday night, but Damian Lillard was nearly as good – and not just because he sent Portland to victory with a tie-breaking, pull-up triple mere seconds of game time before Doncic misfired. Facing a defense hellbent on keeping him in check from deep, Lillard creased the paint again and again from the opening tip, finding shooters with kickouts and daring the officials to blow their whistle. There were several occasions in the first half when Lillard deserved a call on the drive he didn't get, but he continued putting pressure on the rim undeterred. One reason why Doncic's huge numbers came so much easier than Lillard's? Not just a tough whistle, but Portland's refusal to trap or even hedge on Doncic in ball-screen action like Dallas did Lillard every time he received a high pick. Instead, the Blazers switched across four and sometimes five positions on ball screens set for Doncic, readily ceding the individual matchup – often Lillard, to predictable results – he wanted. They tried to return the favor offensively with Doncic's man setting picks for Lillard, but the Mavs strung out the ball with aggressive hedges and rotated behind the play from there. A win is a win, and this is one of Portland's best of the season. Still, there was some low-hanging defensive fruit that could have prevented Dallas' crunch-time comeback and the need for more Lillard heroics.
- Lillard's frustrations with the officiating didn't lie on offense alone. Late in the first quarter, veteran referee Scott Foster warned Lillard to take his hand off a dribbling Doncic, resulting in this odd, mid-play exchange before a foul was (correctly) called.
- Seriously, how many players in basketball would you trust taking a contested, off-dribble look from three more than Gary Trent Jr.? It almost seems like the defense is inconsequential for Trent when he pulls up and lets fly – like he doesn't even see them. Yes, some of his more difficult tries from deep might fall under the category of "forced." But if he's really among the truest marksmen in basketball, it's high time to adjust what qualifies for Trent as a good and bad shot.
- Enes Kanter put together another fine performance on Sunday, owning the offensive glass and beasting both Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber during his few touches on the block. But he's first on the opposing scouting report when it comes to exploitable Blazers defenders, and there are only so many ways to hide him against a maestro like Doncic. Portland's stingiest defense on Sunday came with Kanter on the bench, allowing all five players to switch screens set on and off the ball. Just look at how many switches, backline rotations and multiple efforts were made on the play below, which ended in a Mavs shot-clock violation. This is one of the Blazers' best defensive possessions of the season, and there were several more like it on Sunday.
- Jones' spectacular third-quarter sequence of a towering putback dunk on one end and from-nowhere block on the other got the most attention, but it's his more subtle defensive contributions above that played a crucial factor in Portland's win. Toggling between Porzingis and Doncic as his primary assignment, Jones was still absolutely everywhere as a help defender, doing all the little things that make a switching scheme sound. When he and Robert Covington, who splashed on both ends against the Mavs, play like they did on Sunday, the Blazers will be very tough to beat no matter the opponent.
- Another game, another very encouraging performance from Anfernee Simons. He was confident and aggressive from three off the catch and bounce, and threw a few high-level pocket passes in pick-and-roll that highlight his growing comfort as a playmaker. Simons was physical and handsy defensively, too, faring far better when matched up one-on-one with Doncic than Lillard.
- Let's hope Harry Giles' injury isn't serious. He came up limp midway through the fourth quarter while loading up for a weak-side block attempt, immediately grabbing at his lower left leg before heading to the bench. Giles played a big part in the success of Portland's second unit on Sunday, especially during the second half. What a shame, for both Giles and the Blazers, if the clear progress he's made over the past few games is marred by a significant health setback.