3 thoughts on Mavs’ loss vs. Trail Blazers: In game crucial to West playoff seeding, Dallas falters in final - The Dallas Morning News

After an offensive foul in the final seconds negated a potential game-winning 3-pointer by Dorian Finney-Smith, the Mavericks lost to the Trail Blazers, 134-131, on Tuesday night.

Here are three thoughts about the Mavericks second-to-last seeding game in the NBA’s Disney World bubble.

Seeding on their minds

The Mavericks’ loss ensured they will be the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed when the playoffs start next week. To move up in the standings, surpassing Utah or Oklahoma City, Dallas had needed to win its final two games, among other criteria.

Portland, however, is still surging.

The Trail Blazers entered seeding games outside the West’s playoff standings, but the healthy return of a few key contributors and the rest for star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have helped Portland emerge as a dark-horse threat as the potential No. 8 seed.

Because Memphis, which started play in the bubble in eighth place, lost Tuesday to Boston, the Trail Blazers moved into eighth with their win over the Mavericks. Their urgency showed against Dallas, finishing the first quarter on a 15-0 run, for example, and riding Lillard’s career-high 61 points to a win in the final seconds.

No avoiding star guards

The Mavericks avoided facing a star guard in the front half of their only back to back in the bubble when Donovan Mitchell sat out Dallas’ comeback win over the Jazz for rest on Monday.

The Mavericks weren’t so fortunate Tuesday.

Lillard tallied 61 points, one shy of the 62 points Kobe Bryant scored against the Mavericks in December 2005, the most an opponent has ever recorded against Dallas. He outshined the Mavericks’ star tandem in Luka Doncic (25 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (36 point and six rebounds), who fouled out with 1:18 remaining.

Lillard also drew an offensive foul against Trey Burke with 4.5 seconds remaining, which several Mavericks and coach Rick Carlisle disagreed with during postgame press conferences.

Expect Carlisle to increase his emphasis on defense as the Mavericks have one seeding game remaining — Thursday afternoon versus the Suns — before their first playoff series since 2016.

While the Mavericks shot 51.9% from the field and 45.5% from three, Portland totaled 50 points in the paint, routinely pushing past Mavericks defenders.

Finney-Smith is on a crucial run

After missing the Mavericks’ game Monday with a lingering left hip injury, Finney-Smith returned to the starting lineup Tuesday and continued his torrid run through the past week of seeding games.

Finney-Smith finished 15 points, four rebounds and one assist. He appeared to have scored a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining, which would’ve given the Mavericks a 134-132 lead, but Lillard drew the offensive foul.

In his last four games, Finney-Smith is averaging 17.5 points and 9.75 rebounds, showcasing the determined mind-set he’s often discussed leading up to the first playoff run of his four-year NBA career.

Finney-Smith’s contributions also underscored the importance of production from Dallas’ supporting cast.

For a few minutes in the fourth quarter, for example, Carlisle played Doncic and Finney-Smith alongside three reserves — Delon Wright, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Maxi Kleber — for a defensive boost in a close game. For Kidd-Gilchrist, the action marked just the 11th game he’s played since signing with the Mavericks in February, and his second outing in the bubble, but perhaps signaled a more regular rotation role as the postseason approaches.

Find more Mavericks stories from The Dallas Morning News here.

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August 11, 2020 at 06:22PM
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3 thoughts on Mavs’ loss vs. Trail Blazers: In game crucial to West playoff seeding, Dallas falters in final - The Dallas Morning News
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