A back and forth brawl in Dallas swung towards both squads. In the end, it swung towards the Blazers.

Damian Lillard had 28 points, CJ McCollum scored 35 and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from 19 down in the first half to win against the Dallas Mavericks, 121-119, Sunday night in Dallas. Kristaps Porzingis had 32 points and 9 rebounds to lead the home squad. Luka Doncic had 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. Zach Collins left with a left shoulder injury in the third quarter, and did not return.

Here are tonight’s takeaways:

Battle of the Duos: The battle of Lillard and McCollum against Doncic and Porzingis was nearly one-sided. McCollum kept the Blazers in the game in the first half with 24 points at halftime, but Lillard only scored two points. Then Lillard turned on the heat in the second half, scoring 17 in the third quarter. Lillard gave the Blazers a 120-119 lead with under a minute to play, and that was all it took.

Problems in the middle: Zach Collins left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury, Hassan Whiteside struggled with guarding Porzingis and Maxi Kleber in the first half, and Anthony Tolliver was a disaster, recording a -15 in just three minutes. With Jusuf Nurkic and Pau Gasol also out, the front line was bare at the end of the game.

Hood to Coast: Rodney Hood carried the Blazers for long stretches of the game, finishing with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Both Hood and Kent Bazemore did their jobs of adding scoring even when the big two were not.

Movin’ on up: McCollum moved into second-place all-time in three-pointers made for the Blazers, passing Wesley Matthews.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Portland’s road trip continues in San Antonio Monday night.

BOX SCORE