Blazers Eke Out Win Over Mavericks

The Portland Trail Blazers survived an overtime thriller against the Dallas Mavericks 121-118 on Sunday night, avenging a loss to the Mavs earlier this month despite blowing a double-digit fourth quarter lead. Damian Lillard led Portland with 33 points and seven assists, while Luka Doncic paced Dallas with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Here are a few takeaways from tonight’s game:

• Doncic Delivers. The 19-year old had perhaps the signature moment to date in his promising rookie campaign with this ridiculous three to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter, forcing the extra period.
• Hammer Time. Meyers Leonard turned in a phenomenal performance off the Blazer bench, scoring 13 points on 6-10 shooting, including a couple of highlight-reel dunks, while also providing hard-nosed defense on the other end of the court.
• Posterized. While it was overshadowed by Doncic’s clutch heroics, Al-Farouq Aminu baptized the promising rookie with this thunderous jam in the first quarter:

Box Score

Next Up

The Blazers travel to Salt Lake City for a Christmas night showdown against the Utah Jazz. Stay tuned for more analysis on tonight’s game from Dave Deckard.