Preview: Dallas At Portland
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
The Portland Trail Blazers could be without standout point guard Damian Lillard when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. Lillard departed Monday’s 102-87 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with abdominal pain as he attempted to play through an upset stomach.
It would rate as big news if Lillard sits as he has started all 264 regular-season games in his career. “If I’m good enough to go, I’m going to play,” Lillard told reporters after Monday’s game. “If I can’t go, I can’t.” Dallas shooting guard Wesley Matthews makes his first visit to Portland since departing as a free agent in July just four months after tearing his Achilles’ tendon with the Trail Blazers. Forward Dirk Nowitzki became the 13th player in NBA history to make 10,000 career field goals Monday but the Mavericks dropped a 112-98 decision to the Sacramento Kings for their fourth consecutive road loss.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (Dallas), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (10-8): Matthews played five seasons with Portland and averaged more than 15 points per game in three different campaigns and claims he has no hard feelings stemming from his departure. “They embraced me, they took a chance on me, and people thought that they were kind of crazy to do so,” Matthews told reporters. “They stuck with me, they grew with me, I grew with them, and I’ve got nothing but love for the franchise and the fans and the city.” Matthews had just 10 points in the loss to the Kings and arrives in a deep shooting slump — 32.1 percent from the field over his past nine games.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (7-11): Lillard’s consecutive games streak has been a prideful accomplishment to him in an era where players are frequently rested on one end of a back-to-back. The 25-year-old was averaging 37.5 minutes prior to Monday’s abbreviated 17-minute outing and he admits the streak says a lot about his reliability. “It shows that I’ve been durable,” Lillard said. “I’ve been able to play each game. I’m just fortunate that if I was not able to play, it wouldn’t be because of some kind of injury. Hopefully I will be able to play.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks have won six of the past nine meetings.
2. Portland SF Al-Farouq Aminu was just 3-of-15 from the field against the Clippers and is just a 26.9-percent shooter over the last six games.
3. Dallas backup PG J.J. Barea (ankle) will miss his third straight game and is hoping to return Friday.
PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 102, Mavericks 99