The Dallas Mavericks are enjoying their best stretch of the season, and most of it has been accomplished without superstar guard Luka Doncic.
Dallas will attempt to win for the eighth time in nine games when it visits the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Doncic watched Saturday’s 106-94 road win over the Utah Jazz due to a wrist sprain and again is expected to be a spectator for the sixth straight game. Teammate Klay Thompson (foot) likely will sit out for the fourth consecutive game.
Kyrie Irving played the starring role against Utah with 30 points, nine assists and four steals. He also tied a season high with six 3-pointers and is averaging 28.0 points over the past four games.
Dallas also received a big game from Quentin Grimes, who made five treys while scoring a season-best 24 points. It was his second straight 20-point outing following his 21-point performance during Wednesday’s 129-114 home victory over the New York Knicks.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was happy with the way Irving handled things when the Jazz made a push in the third quarter on Saturday.
“The way he goes about the game, understanding when it’s time to go and when it’s time for others to go — he does a really good job of pushing the others to score,” Kidd said afterward. “We got some stops and that led to our pace where we could get out and run. I thought Ky did a good job of pushing and getting us some easy ones at the rim.”
The Mavericks ran to a 40-22 first-quarter lead against the Jazz before their play began to plummet. Dallas had just 16 second-quarter points to lead by seven at halftime.
“It could’ve gone either way,” Irving said of the contest. “We just had to stay mentally locked in and make sure we finished the game.”
Portland, meanwhile, dropped four of five games before notching a 115-106 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Deandre Ayton scored a season-high 26 points and collected nine rebounds with a strong performance in the middle to lead the Trail Blazers.
“Just attacking the paint and getting as many paint touches and moving the ball,” Ayton said of the success in the interior. “Just being confident in our shots and finishing them.
“Hats off to my backcourt for getting me going and being on me and just talking to me about being the last line of defense.”
The Trail Blazers also received strong efforts from Anfernee Simons (21 points, nine assists), Deni Avdija (20 points, nine rebounds) and Dalano Banton (17 points, career-high five steals).
Banton noted the win over the Kings was pivotal and left Portland 2-1 in West Group A play of the NBA Cup competition.
The Houston Rockets have clinched first place in the group while Portland, the Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2) and Los Angeles Clippers (1-2) are still in the mix. The Trail Blazers will visit the Clippers on Tuesday.
“This in-season tournament, I think it’s big for all players,” Banton said. “Not just our team, but I think everyone. It brings a whole different aspect to the game with the different court and the energy that it brings. I feel like it’s amazing. And we really do want to qualify for the next round.”
Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (knee) and point guard Scoot Henderson (quadriceps) are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Grant has missed the last two games while Henderson has sat out four of the past five.
The Mavericks won all four of last season’s meetings with the Trail Blazers and have taken 10 of the past 12.
–Field Level Media
