PORTLAND -- Usually if the Trail Blazers need to bail themselves out in the fourth quarter, they do so on the strength of their offense. Every now and then they’ll do it with defense, but for the most part, the rely more on making shots than getting stops when the game is on the line.
But Friday night, they managed to do both.
The Trail Blazers outscored the Mavericks by 11 in the fourth while holding the visitors to 21 points in the fourth quarter to come away with a 125-119 victory Friday night at the Moda Center.
The the Trail Blazers are now 25-16 overall and 14-7 at home this season. With the win, Portland has won three-straight and has secured the season series versus the Mavericks with one game remaining, which will be held Sunday night.
What’s more, the win was Terry Stotts’ 500th as a head coach, making him the eighth active coach and the 35th overall to reach that milestone.
“It’s pretty special,” said Stotts, who received a celebratory dousing from his players after the game. “After my first two years in Atlanta I didn’t think I’d get to 100. I’ve been in the league a long time and I’m very fortunate, especially here in Portland, the players that we’ve had and what we’ve been able to do here in Portland for nine years. Obviously it’s pretty special.”
Though that milestone was certainly in doubt. Even though Portland didn’t managed to put up much resistance defensively in the first and second quarters, the return to form for CJ McCollum, who played in just his third game Friday night after missing two months with a broken bone in his left foot, and Damian Lillard continuing his MVP-caliber run of play -- he scored 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 16 first-half minutes -- allowed the home team to hold the lead for most of the first half.
But as they’ve done too many times over the last two seasons, Portland’s play on both ends slipped in the third quarter. They rarely got stopped, were dominated on both the offensive and defense glass and gave up 14 points in the paint on 7-of-8 shooting, as both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis came out more determined to impose their will on the game after the halftime intermission.
With Dallas scoring 38 points on 62 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent from three, Portland went into the fourth trailing 98-93.
With Damian Lillard hobbled after knocking knees late in the quarter, Portland would need someone else to pick up the slack, and that responsibility would fall to McCollum. The 6-4 guard in his eighth season out of Lehigh delivered 11 points in the fourth on three three-pointers and two free throws in nine minutes.
“It feels good, I knew it was going to take some time,” said McCollum. “That was my ninth time playing basketball since January 16, so it takes time to kind of find your rhythm, especially in this type of season. I just had to be patient.”
While McCollum did the heavy lifting, particularly early in the fourth, he got some assistance from his backcourt partner and the bench, with Lillard, Rodney Hood and Carmelo Anthony combining for a 10-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a five-point lead with 2:51 to play.
But more importantly, especially for a team that generally struggles on the defensive end, the Trail Blazers held the Mavericks to two points between the 5:59 and 1:11 marks of the fourth. And when Doncic finally broke that dry sell with a layup, Portland scored the next four points while holding the Mavs scoreless until there was just eight seconds remaining, not nearly enough time to make up a nine-point deficit.
“I thought individually we did a good job on the ball,” said Stotts of his team’s fourth-quarter performance. “We rebounded the ball, I thought we had activity... To hold a team like that to 21 in the fourth when they got, basically, a couple baskets there in the last 10 seconds. there was a lot to like from a lot of different people. (Jones Jr.) made a lot of plays, once Robert (Covington) got his fifth foul, he made some good plays. I thought Rodney (Hood) did a nice job of rebounding and getting his hands on some balls. When you play good defense it’s usually team defense, and that’s what it was.”
McCollum led the Blazers with 32 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field and 7-of-13 shooting from three to go with four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes.
“He looked like CJ,” said Stotts. “We kind of had him on a minutes restriction, otherwise who knows what he could have done. He had a good rhythm, I don’t anticipate a minutes restriction going forward. Seven of 13 from three, which is what he was doing before he got hurt. It was good to see for him and for us.”
Lillard went 10-of-19 for 31 points, six assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes. Enes Kanter finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes and Robert Covington added 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Anthony added 18 points off the the bench to lead a reserve unit that outscored the Mavericks 34-25.
Doncic came close to a triple-double with 38 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in 39 minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 25 points, five rebonds and five assists.
Next up, the Trail Blazers continue their homestand and their streak of playing the same team in consecutive games by hosting the Mavericks in the final game this season between the two teams Sunday night at the Moda Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.