NBA 2018-19: 3 Takeaways from Dallas Mavericks' win over Portland Trailblazers

Final Score: Dallas Mavericks beat Portland Trailblazers 111-102

Stats:

Mavericks- 51 rebounds, 25 assists, 4 Blocks and 11 steals.

Trailblazers- 48 rebounds, 20 assists, 5 Blocks and 7 steals.

The Dallas Mavericks improved to a 12-10 record with a nine-point win at home against an underperforming Blazers side who are now 3-7 in their last ten results. Luka Doncic lead the way with 21 points for the Dallas Mavericks leading them to their victory despite a 33 point performance from Portland point guard Damian Lillard.

DeAndre Jordan furthered his case as the best rebounder in the league dragging down another 17 boards to go along with his 12 points in 31 minutes, his 14th double-double in just 22 games.

The Dallas Mavericks are now 8-2 in their last ten games and have won eight games in a row for the first time since their championship season in 2011, and will look to improve that record in New Orleans on a back to back against the Pelicans.

Now we will go on to the three main takeaways from this game at the American Airlines Centre.

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#1 Player of the Game - Damian Lillard

Portland Trail Blazers v Washington Wizards

The Portland Trailblazers had little enjoyment from this game after falling to a 14 point deficit in the first quarter as Dallas closed out the opening term with a 17-3 run and didn't look back from the break.

Damian Lillard was, as usual, the shining light for Portland, as the All NBA point guard had yet another game-high 33 point game to increase his 27 points per game average. In the 38 minutes played for Lillard, he also added eight rebounds and eight assists, a team high.

After a great 2017-18 season, Damian Lillard has not taken a single step back this year despite the team's struggle, currently in the eighth position in the Western Conference. Lillard managed to get to the line on 12 occasions against the Mavericks, making 11 at 92% to boost his scoring after a poor night from beyond the arc.

#2 Luka Doncic

Portland Trail Blazers v Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic was named Western Conference rookie of the month for October/November and once again shown us why he the ex-Euro League star was so hyped up coming into the draft. The last Dallas player to win this honor was Yogi Ferrell, in February of 2017, the only other winner since 2004.

Doncic started the first 20 games for Dallas and has been averaging a team-high in points, at 18.5 per game, while adding 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, both second highest for the Mavericks.

Against Portland, Doncic put on a great performance with a team-high 21 points and a clutch step back three in the 4th quarter to put the dagger in Portland and ice game. Luka added further to his highlight real moments later as he threw a pinpoint full-court pass to fellow guard Dennis Smith Jr. in the dying minutes of the game.

#3 Portland's poor three-point shooting

Portland Trail Blazers v Washington Wizards

The Dallas Mavericks have drastically increased their defensive effort on this eight-game win streak, and it showed once again tonight as they smothered the Blazers stars and ran them off the three-point line as much as possible.

Dallas held Portland to only 29% shooting from beyond the arc with star guard duo failing to find any consistency from three-point land with Damian Lillard only scoring two of eight threes, while C.J McCollum only shot slightly better at two of seven.

Only allowing seven of 24 three-pointers shows the importance of Dallas' defense has the Trailblazers have been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the past seasons. Their struggle from behind the arc as affected their results over the past month and will need to find their groove if they are to look to hold on to the pack that is beginning to break away at the top of the Western Conference.