PORTLAND – Two gunslingers will be on display Saturday at 9 p.m. at the Moda Center when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks square off against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
And that means another 50-point game could be in the making.
Both Doncic and Lillard bring an impressive resume to the table. Now in his fifth season, Doncic is shattering virtually every franchise record imaginable as he continues to put the league on notice that he’s going to be difficult to deal with no matter who is on the other side of the court serving as a defender.
Doncic scored a career-high 50 points – and added eight rebounds and 10 assists — during a Dec. 23 game against the Houston Rockets. But two games later he topped that with a triple-double of which has never been done in NBA history.
On Dec. 27 against the New York Knicks, Doncic scored 60 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and handed out 10 assists. That’s the first time in league history that a player manufactured a triple-double that included at least 60 points and at least 20 rebounds.
But Doncic was just getting started, as two games after that against San Antonio he finished with 51 points, six rebounds and nine assists in a game Spurs coach Gregg Popovich declared his team was going to hold the Mavs’ talented point guard to under 50 points.
Meanwhile, Lillard also is a juggernaut when it comes to producing 50-point games. In fact, the 11-year veteran out of Weber State poured in 50 points in the Blazers’ 119-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers this past Thursday in Portland.
That’s the 15th career 50-point game for Lillard, which is the second most by any player behind James Harden (23) since Lillard was the sixth player chosen in the 2012 NBA Draft. Lillard also joins Stephen Curry and Harden as the only players with 10 or more 50-point games over the last 10 seasons.
Lillard recently passed Clyde Drexler in becoming the Blazers’ all-time leading scorer with 18,328 points, which ranks 76th on the NBA’s all-time list. Lillard is just nine points from passing Glen Rice (18,336), 37 points from passing Julius Erving (18,364) and 54 points from passing Tracy McGrady (18,381) for 73rd place on the league’s all-time scoring list.
*After Saturday’s game, the Mavs will play the Blazers again on Sunday in Portland before heading home to face Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
*Josh Green (right elbow sprain), Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear) will not play in Saturday’s game, and Christian Wood (right ankle sprain) is questionable.
*Portland has three players averaging at least 20 ppg this season. And they are Damian Lillard (28.2 ppg), Anfernee Simons (22 ppg) and Jerami Grant (221.9 ppg). The Blazers have never finished a season where three players averaged at least 20 ppg.
*The Mavs are 2-0 against the Blazers this season, and both games were played in Dallas. On Nov. 12, Luka Doncic collected 42 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in leading the Mavs to a 117-112 victory over the Blazers. Damian Lillard had 29 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists in that game. And on Dec. 16, Doncic finished with 33 points, six rebounds and nine assists as the Mavs defeated the Blazers, 130-110. Lillard scored 24 points in that contest.
*The Blazers are on a season-high five-game losing streak. Their last victory came on Jan. 2 during a 135-106 win at home over the Detroit Pistons. Jerami Grant scored 36 points in that game for the Blazers.
*The Mavs are 1-2 on this five-game road trip following losses to Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers, and a double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (24-19) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (19-22)
When: 9 p.m., Saturday
Where: Moda Center, Portland
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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