Luka Doncic excelled in his return from injury with 36 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 137-131 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Doncic was 15 of 24 from the floor after missing the previous five games with a wrist injury. He guided the Mavericks to their eighth victory in the past nine games.
Quentin Grimes was 5 of 7 from 3-point range while scoring a season-best 28 points for Dallas. It marked Grimes’ third straight 20-point effort.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points off the bench for the Mavericks. Daniel Gafford added 19 points, P.J. Washington had 14 points and Jaden Hardy added 13 for Dallas.
Anfernee Simons scored 27 points, Shaedon Sharpe had 22 and Deni Avdija added 21 for Portland, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Deandre Ayton recorded 18 points and seven rebounds, Toumani Camara scored 17 points and Jerami Grant added 14 points and six assists for the Trail Blazers.
Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and Klay Thompson (foot) sat out for the Mavericks, who shot 55.2 percent from the field and made 18 of 36 3-point attempts.
Scoot Henderson (quadriceps) missed the game for Portland. The Trail Blazers shot 58.3 percent from the field and were 18 of 31 from behind the arc.
Dallas scored 12 of the first 16 points in the fourth quarter and opened a 112-101 lead on Dinwiddie’s 3-pointer with 9:11 remaining.
Portland rallied over the next five-plus minutes. Camara’s 3-pointer and a dunk by Dalano Banton moved the Trail Blazers within 123-122 with 3:39 remaining.
Portland caught the Mavericks at 127 on a three-point play by Avdija with 1:54 left.
Washington put Dallas back ahead with a 3-pointer with 54.1 seconds left.
Gafford later slammed home a dunk to give the Mavericks a five-point lead with 29.2 seconds to go. Grimes added two free throws to help Dallas seal it.
Doncic had 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the first half as Dallas led 61-58 at the break. Ayton had 14 points in the half for Portland.
Simons scored just three points in the first half before exploding for four 3-pointers and 24 points in the third quarter.
Grimes hit a buzzer-beating trey at the end of the quarter to give Dallas a 100-97 lead. Both teams scored 39 points in the third period.
–Field Level Media
