The Portland Trail Blazers finished a difficult five-game road trip with a 138-133 overtime loss Sunday to the Dallas Mavericks. Portland drops to 6-7 on the season with the loss, but heads back to Portland with an opportunity
to right the ship on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns.
Player of Note
Shaedon Sharpe led all scorers with 36 points, despite a tough shooting night. Sharpe went 12-32 from the field, 3-9 from 3-point range, and 9-11 from the free throw line. He tallied 16 of his points in the fourth quarter or overtime, but didn’t have enough to push the Blazers over the top Sunday night.
Stat of the Night
The Blazers had an overwhelming advantage on second chance points, scoring 32 to the Mavericks’ 10. But when you miss as many shots as the Blazers did Sunday night, sometimes that stat can be misleading.
The Blazers shot just 40.7% from the field in the loss. From behind the three point arc, they were 14-47 (29.8%).
What We Noticed
The Blazers had the same starting five through the first 12 games of the season, but with Jrue Holiday a late scratch with right calf soreness today, the Blazers needed several players to step up to take on the veteran guard’s responsibilities.
Shaedon Sharpe picked up some of the slack. He averages just 1.7 assists per game, but had 6 on Sunday night. For much of the game, Deni Avdija served as the primary offensive initiator. In addition to his 29 points, he dished out 7 assists, up from his season average of 4.6.
But the Blazers missed Holiday in late-game situations. On the final play of regulation, Avdija and Sharpe stood near each other about 30 feet from the basket. Rather than drive or run a play, Avdija dribbled out the clock and airballed a tough, side-step three-pointer as time expired.
Rookie Cooper Flagg, on the other hand, saved his best play for crunch time. The first pick in last summer’s NBA draft was quiet for most of the night. But the rookie got the last laugh with several big plays down the stretch to secure the win. He had 19 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter or overtime, to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Up Next
The Blazers return home to take on the Phoenix Suns at 8:00 PM Pacific on Tuesday.
