Stat summary: 4 numbers to know from the Mavericks’ 126-122 loss at the Portland Trail Blazers

There are many built-in excuses for this one, but that doesn’t make what happened Saturday night at the Moda Center any prettier. The Dallas Mavericks (20-12) dropped a 126-122 decision to the lows Portland Trail Blazers (11-20) after a failed fourth-quarter comeback attempt the other night in a back-to-back set after Friday night’s history in a win in Phoenix and after recent injuries to both Luka Dončić and Dereck Lively II.

Kyrie Irving led the way for the Mavericks with a season-high 46 points on 16-of-26 shooting, including 5-of-12 from 3-point land, to go along with two steals on defense. But Saturday night’s game devolved into something reminiscent of the worst Summer League game you’ve ever channel-surfed as the third quarter wore on before the Mavs put together their furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt. Portland, a team that famously has trouble finding the wide side of a barn on offense, put six players in double-figure scoring against the Mavs. Five of them scored 19 or more, led by Shaedon Sharpe, with 23.

Here are four stats that stood out from Saturday’s loss in Portland.

16-6: Portland’s rebounding edge in the first quarter

Through the game’s first nine minutes, the Blazers outscored the Mavericks 13-3, leading to nine Portland second-chance points early. All nine of those second-chance points came during an 18-4 Portland run that saw their early lead grow to as large as 18 points, up 34-16 after Scoot Henderson’s mid-range jumper with 2:11 left in the first one.

Dallas put nine different players into the game in the first quarter, and not one of them had any idea of ​​putting his backside on a Portland Trail Blazer to secure a defensive board.

The Mavs responded with a small 9-0 spurt at the end of the frame, but only as they began to limit the Trail Blazers to one shot per frame. possession. Portland took a 36-25 lead and held a 16-6 rebound edge after one. They outrebounded Dallas 55-48 on the night.

46: Kyrie Irving scores

Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images

Irving had to drag the lethargic Mavs offense along to get back within 10 points at halftime. He scored from all over the floor in the first half, often having to create tough shots and exert maximum energy to convert on twisting, off-balance drives to the bucket. He connected on three straight possessions, a long 3-pointer, a drive through heavy Portland traffic and a fadeaway mid-range jumper to pull the Mavericks within 66-59 with 42 seconds left before halftime. Henderson answered with his first 3-ball of the game on the next down to make it a 69-59 game at the half.

Irving tallied 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting (2-of-5 from 3-point range) in the first two quarters in his 18 minutes played. The production is great and was needed, but the Mavericks must find a way to avoid running the 32-year-old into the ground in Dončić’s absence. A little help from his friends would be nice. Klay Thompson and Spencer Dinwiddie combined to shoot just 10-of-30 from the field and 4-of-14 from 3-point range in the loss.

Irving scored just two points in the third quarter before giving the Blazers a heaping helping of heroics in the fourth with 20 points as the Mavs tried to claw back the lead.

24-to-12: Portland’s fast-break scoring advantage

The Blazers are a team that really only has one way to beat you: get out fast, run and find easy buckets on the fast break. They absolutely owned this beleaguered version of the Mavs during the fast break on Saturday. Portland found open 3-pointers from the fast break, got to the line for 3-point play opportunities and made hay to drive the Mavs and their short bench ragged en route to a 24-7 fast-break point advantage through three quarters. Dallas scored only five fast break points of the fourth quarter to bring the final advantage 24-12

As a result, the Trail Blazers outscored the Mavericks 58-38 in the paint on Saturday. Dallas averaged 50.5 points in the paint (8th in the NBA) per game, while the Blazers averaged 48.3 (14th in the NBA).

Deandre Ayton abused Daniel Gafford in the post all night long. Ayton scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds in the win.

11-2: Irving’s personal run in the fourth quarter

The Mavericks closed to within five points late in the game when Irving went ballistic in the fourth. He went on an 11-2 run of his own early in the fourth quarter to pull the Mavs within 102-97 with less than nine minutes to play. He hit three contested 3-balls and a turnaround jumper along the baseline over Jerami Grant in that stretch.

The Mavs got back within five a few different times late in the game, but Portland had a timely response each time down the stretch. Both Dinwiddie and Quentin Grimes hit desperation 3-pointers late in the fourth, but the Mavs just didn’t have enough in the tank to complete the comeback with a short bench on the second night of a back-to-back.