(Photo by Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images)
There are never good times for heartbreakers.
But, especially not during the thick of what is turning out to be a dogfight for the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in the Western Conference.
For Portland’s sake, this home-and-home series against Dallas has become more important by the day. This made this afternoon’s tilt one of the most important games of the season. Not necessarily to achieve a higher seeding, but rather to take a rival out mentally during the home stretch.
Much like many of the matches involving the Dallas Mavericks, it involved overtime, however, the Blazers ran out of gas in their loss to Dallas 132-120 on Sunday afternoon. The Blazers fall to 36-35, while the Mavericks improve to 35-35.
It has been said time and time again, for whatever reason, when Portland and Dallas meet, there are fireworks. It could be the history involved for both sides, or it could just be the matchups. Both head coaches come from the same philosophies and elect to use similar styles in their offense and defense. It comes down to individual players performing better than others to make one team better.
In this case, the Blazers got a dose of vintage Dirk Nowitzki and vintage Deron Williams. Williams torched the Blazers for 30 points in their match at the Moda Center in November and he did so today, dropping 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 4-of-6 from three with 16 assists and three steals. Turning back the clock to his Utah days, Dallas put Williams in plenty of isolation situations and he made the most of it. Portland tried every kind of defender, C.J McCollum, Damian Lillard and Maurice Harkless, but none of them were effective.
Williams burned Portland more by swishing any open look from three. In a shake-your-head kind of moment, Williams’ last game where he scored 30 or more points came against Portland in that November matchup. For some reason, the red, white and black give Williams and boost offensively.
Nowitzki, on the other hand, caught fire in the second and in overtime. He scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the second half, while dropping eight points in a quick overtime on 3-of-4 shooting, 2-of-2 from three. It was evidence that the Blazers simply have a hard time matching up with Dirk on defense. To be fair, many teams have issues guarding the future hall-of-famer, but it is obvious that Portland does not have the player to give Dirk fits.
In previous matchups, Lillard would switch and somehow end up guarding the seven-footer on the post, which would end with Dirk getting free buckets. This time around, Portland did not fall for that, but he was locked in from the jump finishing with 40 points, a season-high for Dirk on 16-of-26 shooting. It was pure 2006 Dirk.
What stung the most was an unlikely player emerged from Dallas’ bench that provided an immense impact. Salah Mejri would log 32 minutes thanks to Zaza Pachulia playing less than five minutes and Chandler Parsons being out due to injury. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting with 14 rebounds and six blocks. This is a player normally averaging 8.6 minutes and playing just 23 games this season, averaging 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game. He was not in the scouting report, but he turned the tables.
Portland’s defensive strategies and rotations were not clicking fully and Dallas made them pay with their hot shooting. In the second half, Dallas shot 61 percent from the field and 46 percent from three. The Blazers attempted ten more shots, but made one less than the Mavericks did. Let that sink in. McCollum had a fine second half, dropping 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 3-of-5 from three, but Lillard struggled mightily, going 2-of-13 from the field, 1-of-4 from three with just five points.
Dallas’ defense prevented Lillard from turning the corner with complete control and with big, physical defenders around the rim, Damian had a rough time getting shot up, let alone in the basket. What even sent the game in overtime was Portland’s late offensive surge, thanks to Allen Crabbe going perfect in the fourth quarter with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, 3-of-3 from three. The Blazers erased an eight-point deficit and climbed to grab a three-point lead.
Unfortunately, Lillard was unable to ice the game at the end of regulation and overtime was forced. Dallas, obviously sensing the urgency, came out in overtime and rolled over Portland who had run out of gas. The Blazers made just one shot in overtime, while the Mavericks missed just four of their ten attempts.
It was a humbling experience, but during this time of the season, there is no time for moral victories. Furthermore, these games down the stretch are truly showing Portland’s weaknesses. Their frontline is their weakness, without a scoring power forward; Portland relies heavily on the backcourt as well as nifty inside passes for Ed Davis or Mason Plumlee. With Al-Farouq Aminu still struggling to make outside shots consistently, there are obvious holes.
Luckily for Portland, they get another crack at the Mavericks, this time in Portland as they face Dallas again on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PST. If there ever was a must-win game in the future, this would certainly be one. With a couple of days off and home court waiting, the Blazers should be better prepared.
Stay tuned!