PORTLAND, Ore. - The Mavericks are kings of keeping games close.
They still are hopeful of someday mastering the art of winning those games.
And while their 117-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night wasn't a nail-biter the way most of their games have been lately, it did prove one thing.
Salah Mejri is a fighter.
The Mavericks' 7-2 center came away from a fourth-quarter tangle with Portland's burly center Jusuf Nurkic with nasty scratches on his right shoulder and a finger wave about Nurkic and Blazer forward Evan Turner not being able to get away with physical play against Mejri.