#PORvsDAL Preview
Portland - LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers are rolling, but that wasn't the case against the Dallas Mavericks last month.
Aldridge and the Trail Blazers will try to avenge that defeat with their fifth straight win Thursday night against the Mavericks, who may have Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler back.
Portland (40-19) is averaging 108.5 points during a four-game winning streak, and Aldridge is chipping in with 28.0 and 13.3 rebounds in the last three.
The All-Star forward was impressive again Wednesday, scoring 29 points while Nicolas Batum added 20 with eight assists to help Portland rally for a 98-93 overtime win against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Trail Blazers weren't as fortunate at Dallas on Feb. 7, blowing an 11-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation and getting outscored 15-5 in overtime of a 111-101 loss. Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Damian Lillard scored 26 but missed 12 of 19 from the field.
Batum also struggled in that defeat, missing all eight of his shots and finishing with two points and 10 boards.
Lillard is looking for a bounce-back effort against the Mavericks (40-22) after he missed 12 of 13 attempts, including all seven from 3-point range, to finish with a season-low five points Wednesday. Lillard, who had a carer-high 18 rebounds, totaled 60 points on 50.0 percent shooting over the previous two games.
"The most important thing was that we played the type of basketball we needed to down the stretch to win the game, and I still found a way to impact the game," Lillard said.
The Blazers are atop the Northwest Division, percentage points ahead of Houston for the third seed in the Western Conference. Expanding that lead may be difficult as they've dropped five of seven meetings with Dallas, which could be getting Parsons (ankle) and Chandler (hip) back from injury. Parsons has missed five games and Chandler three and both are with the team at the start of this three-game trip.
INJURY REPORT
Portland: None.
Dallas: Tyson Chandler (left hip injury) is probable. Chandler Parsons (left ankle injury) is out.
Participation Status Key:
- Probable – 75% chance that the player will play in the game
- Questionable – 50% chance that the player will play in the game
- Doubtful – 25% chance that the player will play in the game
- Out – Player will not play in the game
Projected Starters
SF
PF
C
SG
PG
Season Series
Previous Games
Remaining Games
Series Notes
- Thursday marks the third of four matchups between the Trail Blazers and Mavericks in 2014-15.
- Both teams are even with one win apiece in the se ason series, as the Trail Blazers defeated Dallas 108-87 on Nov. 6 in Portland, and the Mavericks defeated Portland 111-101 (OT) on Feb. 7 in Dallas.
- In the last game between these two teams on Feb. 7, Dallas closed the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run over the fi nal 2:50 to force overtime (W, 111-101).
- In that fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 p oints on 5-of-8 shooting (1-2 3-PT).
- LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 22.5 points on 21-of-38 shooting (55. 2%) in two games against Dallas this season. Aldridge has also grabbed 10.5 rebounds per contest.
- Damian Lillard has logged double-digit scoring in each of his nin e career games against Dallas (20+ points twice).
- CJ McCollum is averaging 11.0 points per game off the bench th is season in two games against Dallas. McCollum has made fi ve of his eight shots from beyond the arc.
- Dirk Nowitzki’s 25-point performance against Port land on Feb. 7 was the 19th time in his career against Portland that he has logged at l east 25 points.
Promotions
In Portland's Last Game
The 6-8 small forward, whose offensive struggles this season have been one of the most talked about story lines this season in Rip City, hit a three-pointer with 26 seconds to play in regulation to send Wednesday night’s game versus the Clippers at Staples Center to overtime. He then proceeded to dominate the extra period to help the Trail Blazers to a 98-93 victory.
Batum finished with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three, eight assists, seven rebounds and two blocks. LaMarcus Aldridge, who was on the receiving end of numerous assists from Batum in the overtime, finished with 29 points and nine rebounds in 44 minutes.
What made Portland’s win even more impressive was that they did it with Damian Lillard going 1-of-13 from the field, though he did far exceed his career-high in rebounds with 18.
After falling behind by double digits, the Trail Blazers got back into the game by intentionally sending DeAndre Jordan, a career 42 percent free throw shooter, to the line. The plan worked, as Jordan missed all eight of his free throw attempts in the second half.