The Portland Trail Blazers produced a rare high-octane, offense-heavy performance versus the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday evening. 131 points represents a season-high for the Blazers, who prospered from 58% shooting from the field and the three-point arc alike. All that momentum proved futile when Portland ran up against the point-guard-fueled buzzsaw that was the Mavericks in full glory. Dallas topped 50% from the floor themselves, hitting half of their threes in the process, and bested Portland 136-131. Sadly, a great effort still counted as Portland’s 13th loss of the season.
Here are some of the factors that influenced the outcome.