The Dallas Mavericks finally got their first win of the season out of the way. The Mavericks found triumph in the last place they truly tasted success, on the home floor of the Phoenix Suns. Back in June, the Mavericks clinched their first trip to the NBA Finals at US Airways Center with a victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. Now, they'll look to build on that victory and continue their recent supremacy of the Portland Trail Blazers in a match up at the Rose Garden on Sunday evening.
The Trail Blazers are fortunate. They didn't want the Dallas Mavericks to come to Portland Sunday without a victory. If recent history is any sign of the times, Dallas has a good chance of building on its momentum. The Mavericks have won their last 10 meetings with the Trail Blazers, dating all the way back to Dec. 23, 2003.
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The Dallas Mavericks conclude their three-game road trip Sunday at Portland. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse combined for 88 points. Dallas avoided a season with a 0-5 start. This would have matched the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst start in 25 years by a team that went to the NBA Finals the previous season. At last, the monkey is off their back.
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The Blazers are aware the 1-4 Mavericks present a problem despite their record. Dirk Nowitzki, who exploded for 35 points against the Suns, is an almost impossible match up for Portland, and Jason Terry, who had 30 in the Phoenix game, is just another challenge for Trailblazer point guard Jarrett Jack.
Zach Randolph collected 31 points and 12 rebounds and made the winning free throw with 2.4 seconds left as Portland (4-2) rallied from a 27-point second-quarter deficit to beat New Orleans 92-91 Friday night. It was his third straight 30/10 game. Never before in Portland Blazer’s history, had a player achieved 30/10 games even twice in a row. Portland was 32-of-38 to the Hornets' 14-of-16. Randolph made 15-of-16, missing only his final attempt intentionally after making his first with 2.4 seconds left on the game clock.
The Mavericks have allowed each of their last four opponents to score 100 points, and have scored the same just twice this season. Last season, Dallas ranked fifth in the Western Conference with 99.1 points per game and fourth with 93.1 allowed. The total over 189 is our prime suggestion here. We expect this game to fly over. Dallas makes this 2-4 but we don’t see them covering 6 points. Blazers +6.
