Luka Doncic and Christian Wood blew up the Blazers defense

Two days after turning in one of his lowest offensive performances of the season (90 points), the Mavs showed a completely different face against the Blazers. With leaders in great shape, several productive role players and 3-point ability, the Texans gave up 130 points (130-110) to the Blazers’ defense on a very bad night.

After four minutes of play (8-16), the visitors made the best start, offering three early possessions. Local residents quickly erased this advantage in the first (31-32) and especially in the second quarter. Christian Wood did a lot of damage with his mobility near the circle.

Luka Doncic ended the period strong with a layup, and the Mavs returned to the locker room (72-63) after a first-half offensive fest. That fest continued into a deadly third quarter for Portland players. As the good lieutenant, Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway Jr. both gave their support to the Doncic-Wood pair and the difference increased to 27 points.

From the beginning of the last quarter (110-85), the two coaches could rest their key players. The match had already been folded for some time.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– Blazers are no longer defensive. Kemba Walker calmly entered the Blazers racket, and the latter could not provide the minimum rotation. From a point of view, it was necessary to find Luka Doncic all alone behind the arc. This move at the end of the first period sums up well the visitors’ poor defensive performance. Chauncey Billups also noted after the meeting that they lacked something, of course, energy. It’s a bad sign for a coach whose team has been picking up more points week after week after showing real progress early in the season.

– Chauncey Billups left the game early. There were still about seven minutes left in the third quarter when the Blazers coach called a timeout. And decided to leave without Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Josh Hart. Neither of those would come into play again, as the lead was already huge (95-70). Jason Kidd opted to wait until the end of the quarter to release the incumbents.

– The rise of Luka Doncic! We’ve rarely seen the Slovenian take to the ring like this. After a very daring feint on the opening dribble, Mavs guard Drew Eubanks went to crash the rim. It is enough for him to put his hands on his head to “protect” himself from the severity of his gesture.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Luka Doncic and Christian Wood. A winning ticket to Dallas. At halftime, both of them had already crossed the 20-point mark and showed excellent communication in the game. The latter had a double-double, his best game since wearing a Mavs uniform.

✅ Frank Ntilikina. A word about the Frenchman, who made a remarkable comeback with two 3-point baskets in the second quarter, helped extend the lead before garbage time ended a confident drive. . Eight points, a season’s best, when he came…

⛔ Jeremy Grant and Anfernee Simons. Although Damian Lillard held his own for the most part, he was without two lieutenants, finishing with a cumulative 5/19 shooting performance in this matchup… When they were in the game, Portland sank in terms of scoring (-29 and -21, respectively) .

NEXT

Dallas (15-14) : travel to Cleveland the following night.

Portland (16-13) : moving to Houston the next night.