Mavs Clinging to 8th: Dallas at Portland GAMEDAY

The Mavs look to halt the Trail Blazers' three-game winning streak.

The Dallas Mavericks look to grab an important win against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday night in a tight Western Conference.

The Mavs are clinging to the 8th spot in the conference standings, while Portland sits at the ever-important 6th spot (which avoids the play-in tournament). It's the second matchup between the Mavs and Blazers in three nights with Portland winning 125-119 on Friday night. 

In order for the Mavs to halt the Trail Blazers' three-game winning streak, they must slow Lillard and CJ McCollum, who each scored 30+ points for the Blazers on Friday.  

LUKA MAGIC: In Friday's loss, Doncic again made history. Doncic finished with 38 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists to become the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 50 games with 30+ points (LeBron James, Kevin Durant).

MAVS INJURY REPORT: Starting forward Dorian Finney-Smith will be back in the lineup after missing the previous two games due to the birth of his son. Willie Cauley-Stein (health and safety protocols) is out; James Johnson (health and safety protocols) is out; Tyrell Terry (personal reasons) is out.

BLAZERS INJURY REPORT: Portland continues to be without Zach Collins (ankle sprain) and Jusuf Nurkic (calf strain).

[READ: Mavs EXCLUSIVE: Shawn Bradley Update; Luka's Climb]

[READ: More Likely NBA MVP: Mavs' Luka Doncic or Nets' James?]

ODDS: The Mavs entered the day 1.5-point favorites and the total over/under is 231.

BETTING TRENDS:  Dallas is 6-0 against-the-spread in their last six games following an ATS loss and 4-0 ATS in their last four games following a loss. Portland is 1-4 ATS in their last five games after allowing 100 points or more in the previous contest. Head to head, the over is 7-0 in the last seven meetings overall.

RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (21-19) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (25-16)

WHEN: Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Moda Center (Portland, OR)

TV/RADIO: Fox Sports Southwest, NBA League Pass, ESPN 103.3 FM, Univision 1270 AM

FINAL WORD: Tim Hardaway Jr. on the Blazers duo of Lillard and McCollum:

“They do a great job of feeding off each other. And when Dame is out and C.J. is in the game, that’s his time to go. That’s one of the best duos in the league.''