Inside Report: Mavericks-Trail Blazers preview — Mavs blaze into the Rose Garden, try for third win over Blazers

Earl K. Sneed previews the Mavericks' third matchup of the season against the Blazers, as the Dallas team tries to move to 3-0 against the potential first-round playoff opponent.

PORTLAND, OR — The Mavericks had two days to digest their 96-91 home defeat to the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Now, the Mavs will have to turn their attention to another challenge, hitting the road Tuesday night and beginning a back-to-back by first facing off with a potential first-round playoff series opponent.

The Portland Trail Blazers are awaiting the Mavericks’ arrival at the Rose Garden while also looking to avenge two losses by a combined nine points in Dallas earlier in the season. And with a date against the high-octane Golden State Warriors to follow, the Mavericks (47-19) admit that they can’t get caught looking back at Saturday night’s loss to the reigning champs, despite now being locked in a fight for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference standings.

“It was a tough loss at home, but you’ve got to move forward,” Mavericks leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki said. “We’ve still got a month left in the regular season, we’ve got a tough trip here. Portland has been playing good, (Brandon) Roy is almost back, so it’s full of challenges.”

Those challenges are plenty for the Mavericks, facing a Blazers team that looks much differently than the one Dallas last faced en route to an 84-81 win back on Jan. 4. While Nowitzki missed that game due to a sprained right knee that kept him in street clothes for nine outings, Portland was also without its go-to player, with Roy — a former All-Star — battling his own knee issues.

Still, the Blazers (37-29) would remain in the game behind their big men — LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby — who grabbed a combined 30 rebounds on the night, in addition to Aldridge’s game-high 28 points. And after a trade deadline deal with Charlotte to bring in another former All-Star, Gerald Wallace, along with Roy’s return to the lineup, the Mavericks know that they will have their hands full when they put their 23-9 road record on the line for the third of four regular-season meetings between the two teams.

“They’re a very athletic team. They might be the most athletic team in the league, I think, by positions and coming off the bench as well,” forward Shawn Marion said of the Blazers. “It’s gonna be a tough matchup for us, but I think it’s gonna be a good matchup for us. We’ve played them twice already this season, but they have some additions that they didn’t have earlier, so it’s a good challenge for us. They play very well at home in the Rose Garden, and it’s a good challenge for us. I’m excited for the game.”

Meanwhile, Marion’s teammates are excited to see what he may do next in the starting lineup, after stepping in for an injured Peja Stojakovic (stiff neck) at the small forward spot. Stojakovic didn’t travel with the team for the two-game road trip, forcing him to miss his fourth and fifth straight games.

But that just creates more opportunity for Marion, who followed up a 22-point effort in a 127-109 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night by scoring 25 against the Lakers, matching Nowitzki for game-high honors. The offensive outburst came with Marion battling sore ribs while also matching up with two Top 10 scorers in the league — Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant.

“Shawn has been playing unbelievable,” Nowitzki said, “really taking the challenge on defense and guarding the best player no matter what position. He’s been great, and it seems like it fires him up on the offensive end, too. He wants to go back at that player. He’s been posting up, (shooting) floaters, his whole arsenal.”

But not even Marion will be able to match Aldridge inside, as the big man looks to once again display why he may have been the biggest snub for this year’s All-Star Game. The Mavericks just hope to keep the Seagoville native from making his case at their expense, putting a lot on the shoulders of Nowitzki and the rest of Dallas’ post players.

Aldridge’s season averages of 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game are both career-highs. He’s averaged 31.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two games against the Mavericks.

“He should have been (at the All-Star Game). He’s having a tremendous year. He’s tough because he’s got length, he’s got the in-between shots, he really worked on post moves — really getting points in the paint, jump hooks both ways, can drive it. So, he’s a handful, but that’s why Portland is a good team. When Roy was out for awhile, he really carried the load for a long time. And yeah, he should have been an All-Star. We’ve got our hands full, but we’ve got a lot of long bodies in there and we’ve got to do a good job on him if we want to win the game,” Nowitzki said of his power forward counterpart.

And if the Mavericks can quiet Aldridge in the painted area then it could serve as the driving force toward moving to 3-0 against the same squad Dallas would face if the playoffs began Tuesday night.

Note: The Mavericks head to Rip City to play the Blazers on Tuesday night in a game that will tip off at 9 p.m. CT, airing nationally on NBA TV and locally on TXA 21. The Mavs lead the season series 2-0 after narrow home victories by a combined nine points on Dec. 15 and Jan. 4.

The team returns to the American Airlines Center next Friday night to host the league-leading San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio leads the season series 2-1. The matchup will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT, airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Great seats are still available and tickets can be purchased by visiting the American Airlines Center box office, logging on to Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287).

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