DALLAS — The Mavericks’ game Sunday night against the Trail Blazers wasn’t just a singular contest against a team higher in the Western Conference standings, void of any individual hype or advantage.
That’s rarely the case when Luka Doncic is involved, but especially when it’s Doncic’s final outing before All-Star voting closes.
The Mavericks’ 121-118 loss to the Trail Blazers pitted third-year superstar Doncic against Portland’s five-time All-Star Damian Lillard -- Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, among Western Conference guards in the 2021 All-Star fan voting.
The deadline for fan and media All-Star votes is Tuesday night. The top two guards in each conference after fan, media and player votes will be named All-Star starters Thursday night on TNT. Sunday marked the first, and only, meeting between Doncic and Lillard, who trail first-place Steph Curry, in the first half of this season.
While Lillard (34 points, 11 assists) got the final say with a game-deciding 3-pointer with 32.4 seconds remaining, Doncic also flashed All-Star-caliber sizzle with 44 points, seven rebounds and nine assists on a snowy night in Dallas.
“The thing Luka’s most concerned about is winning basketball games,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “That goes a lot longer way toward these kinds of individual honors.”
Lillard earned the upper hand, at least by team-result standards, thanks to Portland’s dominant third quarter. The Trail Blazers outscored Dallas 45-30 in the third quarter.
After Dorian Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer off an assist from Doncic with 49.5 seconds left, Lillard answered with a three on the next possession, and Derrick Jones Jr. cushioned Portland’s advantage with a dunk in the final 10 seconds off an assist from Carmelo Anthony, who appeared to get away with an offensive foul.
Portland’s production erased the Mavericks’ 61-58 halftime lead, which Doncic built with 11 points in the last 1:42 of the second quarter, but it didn’t keep the 21-year-old from making some history.
Doncic has scored at least 25 points for a franchise-record 14th straight game, passing Mark Aguirre and Dirk Nowitzki (13 games. apiece) His 90 points in his last two games are the most by a single Mavericks player in consecutive games, three more than Mark Aguirre’s 87 in January 1985.
“With Luka, he does a little bit of everything,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “He’s an efficient scorer, inside, outside. He gets into the lane. His passing gets everybody else involved.”
It’s no surprise the Mavericks spent time Saturday during practice watching film of their recent defensive lapses. Lillard, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer, and the sixth-ranked Trail Blazers offense loomed as their sixth opponent in a seven game homestand.
The last time the Mavericks faced Portland -- a three-point loss in the NBA’s Disney World bubble last August -- Lillard tied a career high with 61 points. In four games against the Mavericks in 2019-20, he averaged 42.5 points and shot 53.3% from the field.
“He’s one of the best in the game,” Carlisle said. “He’s a guy who’s really one of the guys that’s changed the game with his long-distance 3-point shooting off the dribble. That’s where he’s really been a pioneer.”
A few stars, including LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, have expressed opposition to the NBA’s reported plans to hold an All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta.
Doncic, however, has been deferential. Lillard, a father to weeks-old newborn twins, has said he’s willing to compromise family time for obligations as one of the NBA’s biggest stars.
Regardless of whether Sunday’s performance influences voters’ minds, both will add another berth to their collection of accolades soon.
— No snow obstacles: While much of the Metroplex refrained from driving amid the winter storm Sunday, Carlisle said no Mavericks had issues driving to American Airlines Center.
While the snowfall had potential to be historic in Dallas, Carlisle, an Ogdensburg, New York, native, said the weather “is just another day in the life.” A handful of players, including Michigan products Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke and Villanova graduate Jalen Brunson, have also played in snow-prone states.
“We’ve got some guys that know this weather. Others don’t,” Carlisle said before the game. “Coming in, one of the good things is it is a Sunday. There really aren’t very many cars on the road at all, and they’ve done a pretty good job of clearing and sanding some of the main roads.”
