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via Imago

via Imago

The Dallas Mavericks crushed the Blazers tonight in a 126-97 victory. Coming off a dismal loss to the Jazz previously, this win was a much-needed confidence booster. And as usual, Luka Doncic had another stunning night with 41 points. It seems as though Kyrie Irving picked his pace in his second game after being sidelined with a heel contusion. The two of them contributed 70 of 126 points.

The Mavs head coach, Jason Kidd, couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Talking to reporters post-game, he looked extra chirpy. When asked what he thought of Doncic’s monster dunk, his cheeky response was, “That was a dunk? [Luka] was flying like Mike tonight.”

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Not just the dunk, but the entire game saw Luka in control. Irving, too, put up a great fight. He tied his season-high with nine rebounds and scored 29 points. Taking control of the momentum early, the Mavericks led by a 9-0 run and continued it throughout.

But the Beaver State’s struggles were just starting.

Luka Doncic & co threw a fumbling Blazers off-balance

The first in a two-game series, Portland seemed to show a bit of a fight in the third quarter, when they outscored Dallas 27-24. But the surge powered down as quickly as it began. The Blazers were struggling to find a rhythm, and it was more than apparent in the 14 turnovers committed by them.

Read More: Luka Doncic’s Dismay Doubles Down as Mavs Suffer Mortifying Injury Scares Amid Blazers Clash

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And if that wasn’t enough, the referees assessed a flagrant 2 foul on the Trailblazers’ rookie Duop Reath and ejected him in the second quarter. An elbow to Josh Green’s face while attempting a shot from the lane was the circumstance. Dallas‘ 21 first-half points were off Portland’s turnovers! Luka Doncic’s 10 of 12 free throws were also courtesy of the 20 fouls that they got.

To add insult to injury, Toumani Camara and Ibou Badji had fouled out of the game. The ‘Rose City’ finished with a total of 34 fouls. “This team’s hard enough to guard in the half-court, period,” Coach Billups remarked on the sad state of affairs. “And then you give them the easy ones in transition. That compounds things and just makes it tough.” 

Well, they will get the chance to rectify their mistakes on Friday as the two teams will meet once again for a rematch. For Portland’s sake, they will get to finish the night on a decent note!

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