PORTLAND, Ore. – With no Luka Dončić, no Dereck Lively II, no P.J. Washington and no Naji Marshall, you’d assume the Mavericks were going to have to use smoke and mirrors to pull off a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Well, Mr. Smoke did his part as Kyrie Irving lit the fire for the Mavericks. And, to be fair, most of his teammates holding the mirrors did their part, too, at least on the offensive end.
But the real magic was the disappearing act on defense for the Mavericks as they simply could not stop the Blazers in the 126-122 Portland win Saturday night at Moda Center.
When you are as shorthanded as the Mavericks were, you can’t afford to let an opponent outscore you 58-38 in the paint, outrebound you 50-40 and fall behind them by 21 points in the third quarter.
On the road. And on the second night of back-to-back games.
Even when Irving goes off for 46 points, it’s too much to ask.
But that doesn’t make it a failure. Rather, the Mavericks exhibited terrific heart and passion in a difficult situation. So what drove them?
“Added motivation – lose in the finals last year, long summer – just tried to come in and be more efficient (this season),” Irving said. “Just making sure we’re never out of any game. I think that’s my role on this team is make sure I keep the poise.
“Guys look to me when the game gets tight or the game looks a little out of hand. Scoring is part of that, but it’s also defense. Just trying to be the best leader I can be out there, no matter what the score.”
For Irving, it’s been a wonderful season so far and the 46 points he scored against the Blazers are the second most since he joined the Mavericks. He’s clearly wanting to step up and make sure the Mavericks stay afloat during the month or however long it will be without Dončić.
He recently said the time in Cleveland when he said the Cavaliers weren’t good whenever LeBron James was out is providing even more impetus.
That’s why Irving was able to play 39 minutes in consecutive games on back-to-back nights. He’s determined to have an impactful season in all respects.
“The amount of times I got beat up last year, I wanted to be more physically prepared this year,” he said. “And also being able to go deep into the reserve tank on nights like back-to-backs.”
Consider Saturday a major step along that journey.
Here’s a few other takeaways from the loss at Portland:
Sharpe Dressed Man: Just about every time that Shaedon Sharpe scored, the Blazers played Sharp Dressed Man from ZZ Top. Sharpe led the Blazers with 23 points, but they had six players score in double figures and five of them had 19 points or more. So many mouths were eating that the Mavericks simply couldn’t clamp down on any of them because somebody else would shake loose for points.
Speed kills: The Mavericks were doubled up in fast-break points with Portland outscoring them 24-12 on points in transition. It is one of the issues that hasn’t been a real problem this season, but must be rectified before it becomes a trend. “The transition was big for them and they capitalized on that,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We have to get better at that. But the turnovers and missed shots, being able to slow the ball down, we just didn’t do that and they took advantage.”
Final thought: The Mavericks got a much-deserved day off the court on Sunday, spending it traveling from Portland to Sacramento, where they play the Kings Monday. This will be their third game in four days.
X: @ESefko
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