PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (20-27) VS. DALLAS MAVERICKS (27-21)
Wednesday, January 26, 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Moda Center
Portland, Oregon
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 88-77
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 54-27
DALLAS HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 50-34
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 125-119, 3/19/21 (Por.)
LAST DALLAS WIN: 132-117, 12/27/21 (Por.)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: Two (Dal.)
SERIES NOTES
• Wednesday's game is the second of three meetings between Dallas and Portland this season and the final matchup at Moda Center.
• LAST MEETING: The Mavericks took down the Trail Blazers 132-117 at Moda Center on December 27, 2021. Kristaps Porzingis dropped 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals to lead Dallas. Damian Lillard led Portland with 26 points and five assists while Nassir Little dropped 20 points and 10 boards.
• Both teams rank in the Top 10 in the NBA in three-point attempts, Portland ranks 7th with 37.9 per game while Dallas ranks 9th with 36.8. The Trail Blazers hold the edge in percentage, 36.0% (8th) to 32.7% (26th)
• On the defensive end, Portland ranks 9th in the NBA in January with 8.17 steals per game and 10th with 5.00 blocks per game while Dallas ranks 18th in the NBA with 13.8 turnovers per game.
• In January, the Mavericks rank 4th in the NBA in personal fouls per game with just 18.6 while the Trail Blazers rank 9th with 23.7 free throw attempts per game.
• CJ McCollum is averaging 18.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in his last five games against the Mavericks. He did not play in the December 27 matchup.
• Jusuf Nurkić is averaging 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his last five games against Dallas.
• Robert Covington has averaged 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 11 games against the Mavericks in his career.
• In 11 career games against the Trail Blazers, Luka Doncic has averaged 30.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He did not play in the December 27 matchup.
• Kristaps Porzingis has averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.00 blocks in his last five games against Portland.
CONNECTION: Dennis Smith Jr. was drafted by the Mavericks in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft with the Ninth overall pick.
NEWS AND NOTES
SIMONS SAYS: Anfernee Simons has had a break out month since assuming a starting role. In 2022, Simons is averaging 24.3 points (14th in NBA), 7.2 assists (15th), 2.7 rebounds and 4.6 three-pointers (2nd) per game while shooting 46.0% from the field, 42.9% from deep and 89.5% at the line.
NURK IN THE NEW YEAR: Jusuf Nurkić continued his hot start to 2022 with his fourth consecutive game with 18-plus points and 14-plus rebounds on Jan. 19 at Boston, making him the first player in the NBA with such a streak this season. His final stat line - 29 points, 17 rebounds and six assists marks his sixth career 25/15/5 performance, the most of any Trail Blazer in the last 40 years (LaMarcus Aldridge - 3). His 13.4 rebounds per game in January rank 3rd in the NBA while his 3.8 assists and 17.4 points rank 7th and 9th among centers. His 10 double-doubles in the month rank 2nd in the NBA and mark a career-high for a single month.
WHAT A TRIP: Portland closed out its first road trip of 2022 with back-to-back stellar shooting performances, recording season-highs in three-point percentage in both games and setting a season-high with 31 assists at Toronto. The 18-of-32 (56.3%) performance at Toronto marked the first time the team has shot over 50% this season. The Trail Blazers went 4-2 on the trip and ranked 5th in the NBA in steals (9.0), 8th in blocks (5.3) and 9th in three-point % (36.2) during the stretch.
BEN THERE, DONE THAT: Ben McLemore scored 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-7 3-PT) and grabbed one rebound in 18 minutes at Toronto on Jan. 23. It was just the 16th time in the last 10 seasons that a Portland player scored at least 17 points off the bench in 20 minutes or fewer but the second time that McLemore has accomplished the feat this season. It also marked the fourth time this season Ben has made five-plus three-pointers off the bench, tied for seventh-most in the NBA.
RESPECT THE HUSTLE: Robert Covington is the only player in the NBA this season with 60-plus steals and 50-plus blocks. He averages 1.43 steals per game and 1.27 blocks per game. Covington has eight games this season with at least two blocks and two steals, tied for most in the league.
NURK 20-20: Jusuf Nurkić turned in a monster performance at Orlando on Jan. 17, registering a double-double in the first half for the second straight game and fifth time this season. He finished the night with 21 points (10-21 FG, 0-3 3-PT, 1-2 FT), 22 rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks. It marked his third career 20-20 game and the ninth such performance in the NBA this season. He is the 11th player in team history to record at least four career games with 20-plus rebounds.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #47 - Minnesota 109, Portland 107 — January 25, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to Minnesota 109-107 at Moda Center ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied his sixth consecutive double-double with 20 points (8-18 FG, 4-6 FT), 14 boards, four assists and one steal ... Nassir Little tied his season-high with four three-pointers en route to 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists ... Anfernee Simons scored 17 points (5-18 FG, 4-13 3-PT, 3-3 FT) with seven assists and four rebounds ... CJ McCollum contributed 15 points (5-15 FG, 3-9 3-PT, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one block ... Robert Covington scored eight points (3-11 FG, 0-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds ... Norman Powell returned to action and scored eight points (2-6 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with five rebounds, two assists and one steal... Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 40 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks ... Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 17 points and 17 boards.
Game #46 - Portland 114, Toronto 105 — January 23, 2022, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Portland closed out a six-game road trip with a 114-105 defeat of Toronto at Scotiabank Arena ... The Trail Blazers shot over 50% for the first time this season, finishing 45-of-85 (52.9%) from the field and 18-of-32 (56.3%) from deep ... CJ McCollum led the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals ... Nassir Little contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block ... Anfernee Simons also dropped 19 points, adding five assists, three rebounds and a steal ... Jusuf Nurkić recorded his fifth consecutive double-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, two blocks and a steal ... Ben McLemore knocked down five three-pointers off the bench, totaling 17 points and one rebound ... Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 28 points, eight rebounds and five assists ... Fred VanVleet contributed 19 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Game #45 - Portland 109, Boston 105 — January 21, 2022, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Portland took down Boston 109-105 at TD Garden ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied his fourth straight game with 18-plus points and 14-plus rebounds, the only player in the NBA this season with such a streak, and also led the team with six assists ... CJ McCollum knocked down five three-pointers on his way to 24 points (7-19 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 5-7 FT) with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks ... Anfernee Simons dropped 21 points (8-17 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 1-2 FT) with four assists, two rebounds and two steals ... Nassir Little contributed seven points (3-7 FG, 1-4 3-PT, 0-0 FT), eight rebounds and two assists ... Ben McLemore scored 12 points (4-7 FG, 4-7 3-PT) off the bench with three rebounds ... Robert Covington tallied five rebounds, four rebounds and one block ... Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes ... Jaylen Brown added 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Game #44 - Miami 104, Portland 92 — January 19, 2022, FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
Portland fell to Miami 104-92 at FTX Arena in Miami ... Anfernee Simons scored 20 1st half points, his fourth 20-point half in the last eight games, en route to 27 points (9-18 FG, 6-14 3-PT, 3-4 FT) with seven assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block in 38 minutes ... CJ McCollum finished with 24 points (10-20 FG, 4-9 3-PT), four assists, three blocks and two steals in 33 minutes ... Jusuf Nurkić recorded his third consecutive double-double, totaling 18 points (6-10 FG, 6-8 FT) and 14 rebounds with two assists, one steal and one block ... Robert Covington tallied his first double-double of the season with 11 points (3-11 FG, 3-6 3-PT, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds and one block ... Nassir Little played 12 minutes and grabbed one rebound and blocked a shot before leaving with an injury ... Caleb Martin recored 26 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Miami ... Bam Adebayo contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Game #43 - Portland 98, Orlando 88 — January 17, 2022, Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Portland defeated Orlando 98-88 at the Amway Center for their first road winning streak of the season ... Jusuf Nurkić led the Trail Blazers with 21 points (10-21 FG, 0-3 3-PT, 1-2 FT), 22 rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks in 36 minutes ... Nassir Little recorded a double-double with 13 points (4-9 FG, 5-5 FT) and 10 rebounds, his fifth consecutive game scoring in double-figures ... CJ McCollum tallied 16 points (7-13 FG, 2-4 3-PT), two assists, one rebound, one steal and one block in his return from injury ... Anfernee Simons registered his seventh consecutive game scoring in double-figures, finishing with 13 points (4-11 FG, 0-5 3-PT, 5-5 FT), seven assists and two rebounds ... Franz Wagner led the Magic with 14 points (7-18 FG, 0-5 3-PT), five rebounds and two assists ... Moritz Wagner contributed 14 points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench.
INJURY NOTES
For the Trail Blazers, Dennis Smith Jr. (right ankle sprain) is questionable; Nassir Little (left shoulder strain), Robert Covington (right knee grade 1 MCL sprain), Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Larry Nance Jr. (right knee inflammation) and Cody Zeller (right patellar fracture) are out for Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks.
For the Mavericks, Sterling Brown (left foot; soreness) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot; fifth metatarsal fracture) are out.
BROADCAST NOTES
Wednesday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.
ARENA NOTES
The Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter are requiring all guests ages 12 and up attending any event at the Rose Quarter, including Winterhawks games, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event or a negative lab-based rapid test taken within 48 hours of the event. At-home tests will not be accepted.
Kids under age 12 can come to events without proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test unless sitting within 15 feet of the court and benches at a Trail Blazers game. All guests must wear a mask at all times while on the Rose Quarter campus.
Click here for more information on Moda Center’s health and safety protocols.