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 It happened again Thursday night at the Moda Center. Dallas shot
37.5 percent from the field on its way to a 94-75 loss.
"We just didn't make shots," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, whose
Mavericks had fired at a collective 35.6 percent clip in splitting a
pair of earlier games with Portland. "We had quite a few good looks
in the first half and some in the second. We just had a bad shooting
night."
The Trail Blazers figured their defense had a good deal to do with
it.
"It was a very good defensive game for us," Portland coach Terry
Stotts said. "Our defense was locked in throughout the game for what
we wanted to accomplish, individually and collectively."
The downside for Portland was that guard Wesley Matthews tore his
left Achilles tendon in the third quarter. He will undergo
season-ending surgery. Matthews averaged 15.9 points, 2.3 assists
and 3.7 assists this season.
 Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 15 of his 17 points in the first
half as Portland (41-19) rolled to its fifth straight victory.
Forward Nicolas Batum collected 15 points, a season-high 12 rebounds
and six assists, while guard Damian Lillard had 14 points, six
rebounds and five assists for the Blazers.
Forward Amar'e Stoudemire and guard Monta Ellis each scored 12
points for Dallas, which lost for the third time in the last four
outings.
Portland broke open a tight game with a 31-point third quarter for a
71-57 lead. The Mavericks (40-23) never cut the deficit to fewer
than 10 points the rest of the way.
"We guarded well for most of the night," said Aldridge, who grabbed
12 rebounds and picked up his 31st double-double of the season. "We
got better defensively as the game went on. That's why we pulled
away late in the game."
Aldridge had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Portland to a
40-36 advantage at halftime. The Blazers shot only 40 percent from
the field before the break, including 2-for-12 from 3-point range,
but the Mavericks were worse at 37.2 percent from the field and
1-for-8 on 3-point attempts.
The Blazers heated up early in the third quarter, using a 10-2 run
to take a 52-44 lead with 7:36 left. They built the margin to 71-55
late in the quarter. Portland wound up shooting 41.5 percent on
field-goal attempts, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) on 3-point tries.
Portland got out into the open court to increase its lead to 80-63
early in the fourth quarter. Dallas closed to within 85-75 with 4:10
to play, but Batum's 3-pointer pushed the Blazers back in front
88-75, and the Mavericks -- who wound up shooting 2-for-16 from
3-point range -- were done.
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"We didn't score much, and we didn't shoot the ball well," said
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who had 10 points on 5-for-13
shooting. "We really didn't do much offensively. We were pretty
solid defensively most of the night, but we couldn't make enough
plays offensively to make this an interesting game."
Dallas ruled a slow-paced first quarter, taking a 23-17 lead into
the second period despite 11 points from Aldridge. Portland's star
forward shot 5-for-7 in the quarter, while his teammates went a
collective 3-for-15.
The Blazers scored the first six points of the second quarter to tie
it at 23-23, and the teams battled from there until Dallas used an
8-1 run to go ahead 35-28. Portland answered with a 12-1 tear to go
back in front by four points at the half.
NOTES: Fan Chris Germain sank a half-court shot between the third
and fourth quarters to win a new Toyota Avalon. ... Dallas regained
the services of C Tyson Chandler, who had missed the previous three
games with a left hip injury. Chandler scored four points and
grabbed 14 rebounds in 32 minutes. Teammate F Chandler Parsons (left
ankle) sat out the game. "He'll miss Saturday (Golden State) and
will be re-evaluated Sunday," coach Rick Carlisle said. ... The
Mavericks have the second-most difficult schedule left of any NBA
team, with 13 games against winning teams and six vs. teams under
.500. "We had a favorable schedule early in the year, and we knew it
was going to come back this way," Carlisle said. "It's the way to
test yourself. We have to view that as a positive challenge. It's
going to be hard, but it's going to make us better." ... The Blazers
are 9-4 in the second of back-to-back games. ... Dallas had 57
points after three quarters, the fewest for any Portland opponent
this season.
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