Dallas Mavericks (24-50) beat Portland Trail Blazers (37-38) 100-93 on the road on Friday, March 27 in a low-scoring game: just 193 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Mavericks struck first, taking the opening quarter 32-22 and a 10-point lead after one. The Trail Blazers cut into the deficit with a 29-24 second quarter, though the Mavericks still led by 5 at halftime.
The Trail Blazers won the third 25-23 to stay in front, taking a 3-point lead into the fourth. The Mavericks took the fourth 21-17; the Mavericks finished the job for a 100-93 regulation win.
What decided it
The Mavericks took better care of the ball, turning it over on 16.3% of possessions compared with 23.2% for the Trail Blazers. The Mavericks got more from their shots, finishing at 48.8% effective field-goal shooting compared with 44.3% for the Trail Blazers. Those extra possessions were crucial.
The Trail Blazers did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 31.8% against 17.1%. The Mavericks made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 104 possessions per team, the Mavericks produced 96.3 points per 100 possessions to 89.5 for the Trail Blazers.
Who made the difference
Marvin Bagley III was the game's biggest individual force for DAL: 26 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast on 11-14 shooting. His Game Score of 24.1 led everyone. His team was +6 with him on the floor.
Jerami Grant led the Trail Blazers with 19 pts, 4 reb, 0 ast on 4-8 shooting, good for a 16.8 Game Score.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Mavericks entered with about a 19% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Dallas Mavericks lead 4-2.
The Mavericks are now 24-50, and the Trail Blazers are 37-38. The Mavericks last five before this game: L-L-L-L-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.