LDN - Sports

McCollum's last-second shot pushes Blazers past Mavs

[February 08, 2017] DALLAS -- It came down to who had the ball last.

Fortunately for the Portland Trail Blazers, that was CJ McCollum.

A stumbling floater from McCollum with 0.3 of a second left finished off a wild final minute and lifted the Blazers past Dallas Mavericks 114-113 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

McCollum gave the Trail Blazers the lead four different times in the final 34 seconds on his way to 32 points. His final bucket followed a 3-pointer from Dirk Nowitzki with 3.9 seconds remaining.

The Blazers called timeout and set up the last play for McCollum or Damian Lillard. McCollum was the one open.

"Once I caught it, I knew I was going to attack right away," McCollum said. "I had seen Harrison Barnes coming from the left side, so I just threw the ball up there and tried to split, get to the free throw-line area and get to my sweet spot. I got there and knew it was a shot I was comfortable with, so I had a good feeling it would go in."

Portland has had trouble this season closing out games.

"We have been on the wrong end of it a lot of times this year, and so be proud of what we did," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "I'm glad we closed it out. We didn't do some things that we needed to do in the last minute, but we kept responding."

Portland (23-30) snapped a two-game skid that began with Friday's 108-104 home loss to Dallas. The Blazers came into their fourth meeting with the Mavericks this season seeking a certain measure of revenge.

Not only did the latest loss sting, especially with both teams gunning for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the Blazers were lit up last time out by Yogi Ferrell.

Dallas' rookie point guard, on a 10-day contract at the time, scored 32 points and knocked down nine 3-pointers that night. Damian Lillard said going into the game that the Blazers weren't about to let Ferrell go off again.

They didn't. Lillard did.

The All-Star Game snub carried Portland before McCollum's finishing kick that split the season series with Dallas 2-2. Lillard knocked down 12 of 22 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 from deep, and finished with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds.

McCollum missed only eight of 21 shots from the floor and posted his 11th 30-point game of the season. Mason Plumlee had 12 points and 15 rebounds for his 14th double-double. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 12 points off the bench.

The Blazers suffered a huge loss as Evan Turner (11 points) fractured the third metacarpal in his right hand. The injury appeared to happen in the third quarter as Turner's hand hit Barnes' elbow while running around a screen.

McCollum's final basket followed Nowitzki's second 3-pointer in the last minute, both giving Dallas a momentary lead. Nowitzki scored 25 points -- his second-highest output this season -- and drilled four 3s.

"Fun game to be a part of," Nowitzki said "We fought back from being down 16 at the end of the second quarter. It could have gone either way."

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Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee (24) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Barnes led the Mavs with 26 points, Wesley Matthews scored 23 and Ferrell added 12.

Nowitzki helped spur a second-half comeback, with the Mavs taking an 89-88 lead on his three free throws early in the fourth quarter. The Blazers followed with a 13-0 run that seemed to put the game away.

Dallas (20-32) responded with their own 13-0 spurt to regain the edge, setting the stage for a series of big shots down the stretch. There were seven lead changes in the final 1:13.

"You're never going to be in a better regular-season game," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's for sure. It was just a great game all around."

The Mavs play the second in a four-game homestand Thursday against Utah. Portland returns home for a two-game set beginning Thursday against Boston.

Lillard was aggressive early, knocking down two quick 3-pointers on his way to 10 points in the first quarter. He added 12 points in the second quarter as the Blazers went into halftime up 64-53.

The Mavs were down 11 despite committing just one turnover in the half. Portland was shooting 57 percent from the floor compared with 40 percent for Dallas and had a 30-16 advantage on the boards at the break.

Ferrell had just three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field going into the locker room. Barnes led Dallas with 15 points and Matthews had 14.

NOTES: Dallas signed PG Yogi Ferrell to a two-year contract for the league minimum Tuesday morning after his original 10-day contract expired. The undrafted rookie averaged 17.2 points and 5.0 assists in his first five starts, as the Mavs went 4-1. "It's been a good run for him up to this point," coach Rick Carlisle said. "People have certainly got him up on their board now, so he's going to have to adjust to teams that are more aggressive on him with their coverages." ... Carlisle said PG Deron Williams (toe) is closer to returning than C Andrew Bogut (hamstring). ... Portland PG Damion Lillard was active despite spraining his ankle Sunday against Oklahoma City. ... Mark Cuban on the Mavs' playoff push: "It's not just about making them. It's about being good enough to be there."

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