Portland Trail Blazers: Blazers rally from 19 down and steal one in Dallas

The Portland Trail Blazers rallied from 19 down to steal a win from the Mavericks and hand them their first loss of the season.

In an exciting third game, the Portland Trail Blazers came back from a large deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 121 – 119.

First Half

A slow start to the game led to an early timeout called by Terry Stotts which was necessary as the Portland Trail Blazers saw a ten point deficit arise within the first four minutes. The Mavericks came out hot starting the game 7-for-9 from the field, the Blazer defense looking out of sorts.

The timeout was very effective as an immediate 8-0 run followed the pause in action with three pointers from Zach Collins and Rodney Hood and a driving score from CJ McCollum to lessen the deficit to two at the midpoint in the first quarter. A scorching hot Rodney Hood forces a Mavericks timeout at the three minute mark of the first as Hood totaled 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting before the quarter came to a finish.

The quarter ended with the Mavericks leading 40-25 at the hands of 15-0 run to end the quarter after the Blazers knotted the game up at 25. Damian Lillard never found his footing within that first-quarter shooting just 1-for-7 from the field with no trips to the free-throw line. The Mavericks stayed hot as the second quarter began with Porzingis coming out successful on three straight three point attempts in which we saw the lead reach nineteen.

A steal and a bucket from McCollum followed by a three pointer from Anfernee Simons led to a Maverick timeout as the Blazers managed to cut the deficit to 11 despite the Mavericks hot shooting. An eruption from McCollum in the second-quarter lead to another Dallas timeout as he extended his scoring totals to 18. The Blazers continue to chip away at the lead as the deficit is only four with 6:15 left in the second quarter.

A quick 8-0 run following the timeout for the Mavs extended their lead to 59-47 with 4 minutes left in the half. McCollum played his first outstanding half of the year so far yet the Blazers still trail 71-59 at the break as Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis played masterfully throughout the first 24 minutes.

Second Half

Lillard finally found his footing in this game to open up the second half but the Trail Blazers failing to pick up the Mavericks shooters keeps them down seven at the halfway mark of the third quarter. Kent Bazemore brought an immediate spark off the bench with a mid-range jumper followed by and one finish to cut the Mavs lead to just two.

The Mavericks cooled off in the third as they are failing to capitalize on the opportunities from behind the arc that they couldn’t miss on the first half. Collins exited the game at the of the quarter and ran straight to the locker room due to an apparent shoulder injury leaving the opportunity for Skal Labissiere to get some minutes.

Behind a 19 point third quarter explosion from Lillard the Blazers managed to tie the game up at 95 entering the fourth crawling all the way back from 19 down.

The Blazers took their first lead of the game early in the 4th quarter off a Bazemore three pointer setup beautifully by McCollum. This was followed by another dime from McCollum that got Labissiere an easy finish. McCollum’s hot start to the quarter continued with a right-wing three pointer that gave the Blazers their largest lead of four with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

A steal by Curry followed by a fast break three-pointer lead to the game being evened up at 107 with just over six minutes remaining in the game. The intensity picked up in Dallas and the fans definitely showed more interest as the game went down the wire in the American Airlines Center.

A ferocious put-back dunk from Hassan Whiteside gave the Trail Blazers a one point lead with three minutes left in regulation. The Blazers failing to play defense without fouling kept the Mavs in the game as it seemed they were taking trips to the line every possession.

A great defensive stand led to a Doncic half court attempt with 34 seconds left which resulted in an air ball and the Blazers obtaining possession down one. An incredible drive and finish by Lillard on Doncic retained the lead for the Blazers with just over a shot clocks worth left in the game.

A coach’s challenge on a Dorian Finney-Smith drive was overturned leading to a jump ball at midcourt with 8.4 seconds left. Porzingis versus Hood was the matchup for the tip and somehow Bazemore ended up corralling the ball. Bazemore went 1-for-2 at the line to give the Blazers a two point lead with four seconds left, the Mavs failed to convert as time expired leading to a Trail Blazers victory 121-119!