PORTLAND — After seeing his team slump to a fourth loss in the last five games following Monday’s 112-98 defeat in Sacramento, Dallas Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews found himself in an unfavorable position 24 hours later in Portland.
Looking to lead his current squad to a much-needed win to end a stretch of four straight road losses, Matthews stepped into Moda Center with a laser-like focus. Matthews also mentally prepared himself to face off against his former team for the first time since departing the Trail Blazers this summer in free agency, entering the visitors’ locker room after spending the previous five seasons in Portland.
Matthews would then see his teammates lift him up with an epic rally to force the game into overtime. And with Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams leading the way, the Mavericks (11-8) avoided a fifth straight loss on the road by sprinting to a 115-112 overtime victory on the second night of a back-to-back.
“It was amazing,” Matthews said after being greeted with a warm reception from the Portland crowd. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I was trying to focus on the game. These fans have been amazing to me since I got here, and it meant a lot.
“You know, they made a big run on us. And we’re a veteran team, we’re a tough team and we’re a smart team. We just turned our level of intensity up and our aggressiveness, and we were able to come out with a big win.”
Greeted with a standing ovation from the Portland crowd during introductions, Matthews then deferred to Nowitzki to open the scoring with a vintage jumper on the first possession. Matthews quickly lent some assistance, however, getting on the board with a midrange jump shot of his own. But it would be Nowitzki’s three-pointer from the top of the key that gave the Mavs the early momentum, forcing a Portland timeout as the Dallas team surged to a 13-5 lead with 8:16 remaining in the opening quarter.
And after the duo boosted the visiting team to double-digit lead of as many as 15, the Mavericks took a 27-18 advantage into the second period behind 16 combined points from Nowitzki and Matthews.
Making a run as the second stanza started, the Trail Blazers (7-12) forced a timeout by Mavs coach Rick Carlisle with 10:40 remaining in the half after a transition score by Allen Crabbe trimmed Dallas’ lead to just 27-25. Center Zaza Pachulia then began to have his way inside, giving the Mavericks a strong presence in the interior at both ends of the court.
Backup big man Charlie Villanueva also found a rhythm as the Mavericks again surged to a double-digit lead. But with the Mavs unable to close the half strong while committing uncharacteristic turnovers, the Blazers again charged back within single digits before Gerald Henderson’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave Portland its first lead of the night at 52-50 entering the intermission.
Led by Nowitzki’s 13 first-half points and Pachulia’s 12th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds through two quarters, the Mavs jumped out to the early advantage while holding a 23-21 edge on the glass. The Mavs also outshot the Blazers in the half, 50 percent to 40.8 percent, but couldn’t overcome the 13 Portland points scored off their nine turnovers.
Connecting on three straight triples to open the second half, the Blazers looked to create a separation on the scoreboard with an 11-2 run as the third period got underway. The Mavs countered with a heavy dose of Pachulia inside, getting on track behind the veteran big man’s back-to-back baskets.
Nowitzki also reassumed the scoring, getting assistance from Williams at the offensive end of the floor. Veteran guard Raymond Felton joined the fun as well to give the Mavs the lead once again, stepping in for forward Chandler Parsons as he sat out to conclude the back-to-back.
And with the Dallas defense stiffening, the Mavericks took a 74-73 edge into the fourth period.
Opening the final quarter of regulation with a three-pointer by Villanueva, the Mavs tried to create some distance between the two teams. Instead, the Blazers regained the lead with a triple by Crabbe, continuing their red-hot shooting from behind the arc.
Portland point guard Damian Lillard took matters from there, forcing a Dallas timeout with 6:17 remaining after his driving score boosted the Blazers to an 87-79 advantage. Matthews then intervened after Portland went ahead by 10, swishing back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Mavericks within four at 89-85.
“I think what really gave us a chance to win was Wes’ two threes. We were down 10, and the game looked really out of reach. And Wes hit those two huge threes to even put us in a position to go to overtime and win the game. Those were two big shots,” Nowitzki would later say of the sequence.
But the momentum would be short-lived after Meyers Leonard’s trey over Nowitzki in the corner to push Portland’s lead back to seven. The Mavs clawed back once again, however, getting a score inside from Matthews before Nowitzki’s three to move within an arm’s reach. Williams led a defensive stand shortly after that, rejecting Lillard to lead to another opportunity at the other end for the Dallas offense. Nowitzki then provided the fireworks, tipping in a missed corner three from Villanueva to tie the game with 6.0 seconds left on the game clock.
And after Felton’s strong defense forced a miss from Lillard behind the arc as time expired, the two teams slid into the overtime period tied at 96-all.
Opening the extra period with a floater in the lane, Williams then stayed on the attack while extending the lead to five with a three-point play in traffic. Nowitzki lent some helping hands, swishing a vintage fadeaway to lift the Mavericks to a 105-99 lead with 1:20 left in overtime.
Williams then delivered the dagger, finding nothing but the bottom of the net on a trey from the top of the key to put the Mavs up 108-101 with 40.6 ticks left to hang on. Matthews and Felton put the finishing touches on the win from there at the foul line.
Scoring a season-high 30 points on 11 of 17 from the field, Williams led the Mavs to the win while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out eight assists. Nowitzki added 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting, grabbing eight boards and dishing six assists to boot. Meanwhile, Matthews scored 18 points against his former team, hitting 5 of 11 from the field. Pachulia also scored 14 points and snatched a monster 21 boards inside, while Villanueva pitched in 10 points off the bench.
“We just kept fighting,” Williams proclaimed. “I don’t know where it came from, but I’m glad we had it tonight. I’m glad we had this resilience tonight and we were able to fight back, and we didn’t lay down. It was a game on the road and the second night of a back-to-back. We had a lead early, lost it, and then we just never really found a good rhythm until the end. I think that says a lot about our team and about the fight we have.
“I thought it was a great team win for us. We had a lot of guys that stepped up and played huge tonight. Of course, Dirk’s night. But if you look at Zaza, Wes and Ray, we had so many guys that came in and played big minutes for us. And it was a huge win for us.”
Lillard led six Blazers in double figures with 25 points on 10 of 24 from the field, grabbing eight boards and dishing out 10 assists to finish just shy of a triple-double. But the Mavericks’ 45.7 percent shooting bettered Portland’s 41 percent, overcoming a 50-49 rebounding disadvantage by converting the Blazers’ 16 turnovers into 32 points.
“You know, we just kept playing,” Carlisle concluded. “We had a disappointing one last night. Tonight’s game started similarly. We got a lead, we had a little bit of a letdown, but we just kept saying to ourselves, ‘Hey, we’re going to fight harder tonight.’ You know, when it was down eight with 2 1/2 minutes left, it would have been easy to drop our heads. Guys just kept playing. We made plays. Dirk made a great tip to get it to overtime, and then we pulled it off. We had some guys have some huge nights. D-Will was great. Dirk was great. I thought Wes Matthews played a great game in a very difficult situation, coming back to his place where he’s been for so many years. It’s very emotional, so I’m happy for our guys. They really hung in and found a way. It was an unlikely scenario late in the game.”
Note: The Mavericks will now return to American Airlines Center on Friday, hosting the Houston Rockets. The Mavs lead the season series 1-0 after a 110-98 win in Houston back on Nov. 14. That game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT and will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting Mavs.com, or by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
