The Portland Trail Blazers played a spirited game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. Portland’s guards dominated and their three-point shooting was superb. But while the Blazers were shining up the windows and decorating the eaves, Dallas snuck in the kitchen and raided the cookie jar repeatedly. Interior scoring and veteran savvy held the Mavericks in good stead during a 125-112 Portland loss.
If you missed the action, you can find our quarter-by-quarter recap here. Once you’ve got that, here are a few factors that influenced the outcome.