In the absence of Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks still found a way past the Blazers on Monday night. They outscored Damian Lillard who is having one of the worst seasons in his career. Portland was also without some of its key figures including CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Ben McLemore.
The main factor for Dallas’ victory was their power forward and center, Kristaps Porzingis. He came up huge, finishing off with 34 points on a 12-21 shooting from the field. The Latvian added 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for the final victory, 132-117.
Porzingis coming through 💥 pic.twitter.com/G5QLNwmNlO
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 28, 2021
Dwight Powell was almost as valuable as Porzingis for the win. He tallied with 22 points on a fantastic 9-11 performance from the field. Brandon Knight was another surprising factor for the Mavs, dropping 18 points for 24 minutes of play.
Damian Lillard showed its inconsistency once again, shooting just 33.3% from the field. He might have scored 26 points in the match, but half of them came from free throws. The point guard conceded 5 turnovers which further proved the fact that he is still out of rhythm.
Nassir Little added 20 points for the Blazers, while Norman Powell further plummeted their chances. The shooting guard finished off with just a single 3-pointer out of 7 attempts. The Blazers will surely need to work on their in-game performance as their percentages are way too low for their high ambitions.
The Blazers have won just 3 out of their last 15 matches in the NBA which put them in a serious trouble. They are still close to 10th place as they are 11th with 13 wins and 20 losses.
Their upcoming schedule is far from an easy one as they host the Utah Jazz for the last time this year in Moda Center. They will wrap up 2021 with an away game in Crypto.com Arena against the unpredictable and disappointing LA Lakers.
The Mavericks will need to minimize the damages until Luka Doncic returns. They are currently in 7th place with a 16-17 record. In their last games for the year, the Mavs will place twice in Golden 1 Center against the Sacramento Kings.
