Inside Report: Mavericks-Trail Blazers preview — Mavs wrap up long road trip, try to bounce back versus Blazers

Earl K. Sneed previews the Mavericks' Sunday night matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, as the Dallas squad wraps up its six-game road trip looking to rebound from back-to-back losses.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers appear to be on a collision course set to come together in the first round of the playoff.

That makes Thursday night’s match between the two squads more than just a possible playoff preview of the No. 3 seed versus the sixth seed. It also means that the Mavericks (53-23) will have a chance to deliver a resounding message to the Blazers with a third win in the four-game season series, as the Dallas team tries to bounce back from back-to-back losses with a much-needed victory to conclude its longest road trip of the year, all while the Blazers take the floor looking for an eighth straight home win.

And less than 24 hours after falling to the Golden State Warriors on the road, 99-92, the Mavs will try to get back on track, looking to move to 3-1 in the season series with the Blazers (44-32) while also hoping to avenge a 104-101 loss in the Rose Garden on March 15.

“This is a big game [Sunday night] against a team that we could play in the first round of the playoffs. And that’s what it boils down to,” forward Shawn Marion explained.

“We’ve been one of the better teams on back-to-backs, and I have confidence in these guys,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added after the loss in Oakland to the Warriors on Saturday night. “It was a tough night, but we’ve got to shake it off.”

It was a tough night for the Mavericks because of their inability to knock down shots from the perimeter, connecting on just 5-of-25 from behind the 3-point line. And after following up a 36-percent shooting night in a 110-82 loss to the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers with just 41 percent shooting against the Warriors, the Mavericks will be searching for an answer to their dreadful misfiring of late against a quality Portland team.

“Our offense was good, our shotmaking wasn’t there. It was a tough shot-making night…It was just one of those nights when we needed to make more shots,” Carlisle said when explaining the Mavs’ recent inability to shoot through the nets.

“On a night like [Saturday night], if the shots aren’t going in we’ve got to find something else,” leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki added.

But that may be just a small sample of the Mavs’ concerns heading into the fourth and final regular-season showdown against the Blazers. Dallas will also have its hands full trying to do what the squad has struggled to do in the first three matchups against the Blazers: slow down All-Star snub LaMarcus Aldridge.

Posting 30 in Portland’s lone win over the Mavs this season, Aldridge has averaged 31.0 points against his hometown ballclub in the three outings. And you can bet that the Seagoville native will be atop Carlisle’s priority list the fourth go-round.

“[Aldridge] is a great player and … he’s really hurt us,” Carlisle said. “We used different coverages on him, different guys, and his ability to score inside and then pop out and hit shots makes him really tough.”

But the Mavericks will also need to have their attention on the Blazers’ two former All-Stars playing aside the big man, after Portland pulled off a trade deadline exchange with Charlotte to bring in Gerald Wallace in addition to getting Brandon Roy back after his continuous battle with knee injuries.

And although the Dallas defense will be keyed in on Aldridge, Nowitzki admits that his team must also plan in advance for Roy’s ability to take over a game, after seeing first-hand the swingman’s 21-point effort back in March in a reserve role.

“He looks like the Brandon Roy of old out there,” Nowitzki said. “If he shoots the ball like that they’ve got two legit go-to guys with Aldridge, who is playing phenomenal, and him. So, they’re gonna be tough to beat in the playoffs whoever they see.”

The Mavericks just hope that the Portland squad will still taste the bitterness of a defeat from Sunday night’s game if in fact it is Dallas that the Blazers see first in the postseason.

Note: Sunday night's Mavericks-Blazers showdown will tip off at 8 p.m. CT, airing locally on TXA 21.

The team returns to Dallas to host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. The Nuggets lead the season series 2-1 including a 121-120 win over the Mavs in Denver on Feb. 10. That game has been moved up and will now 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).

Stay connected with Dallas Mavericks inside reporter Earl K. Sneed by clicking "like" on his Facebook page or by following him on Twitter. Got a question for EKS? Send your question, along with your first name, last initial, city and state with the subject line "Ask EKS" to askeks@dallasmavs.com, and you could be published on Mavsfastbreak.com, the Mavericks' new official blog site.

Single-game tickets for the first two Mavs home games of the First Round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs are now on sale. Fans that purchase single-game tickets will receive a commemorative 2011 Mavs Playoff ticket*, which will allow the fans to experience augmented reality, a new technology that will bring the ticket to life with animated Mavs players including Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry. Game day and commemorative tickets will go live when the 2011 Playoffs begin.

Tickets will be available online at mavs.com, via phone (214-747-6287 or 1-800-4NBA-TIX) and the American Airlines Center® North Box Office**. Ticket prices start at $15 and up and there is an eight ticket limit per game. Tickets are also sold at all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Simon Mall in Garland and Shops at Willow Bend).

Fans that purchase single game tickets at the American Airlines Center® North Box Office will receive their commemorative ticket at that time. For those purchasing online or at a Ticketmaster outlet, commemorative tickets will be available to pick up at the American Airlines Center® North Box Office or on Playoff game nights at the Mavs ticket sales table on the main concourse near the North Box Office. Augmented Reality is available only on Android phones. For more information, go to http://www.nba.com/mavericks/ar/ar.html.

Individual game tickets are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the American Airlines Center box office, on Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287). Get in on the action and be there for all the thrills!

Fans can visit Mavs.com or call 214.747.MAVS for more information and a complete listing of regular-season home games.