The Portland Trail Blazers (9-3, 6-1 Away) travel to face the Dallas Mavericks (6-5, 5-1 Home) Saturday in what should be a slow-paced game. Portland topped the New Orleans Pelicans 106-95 at Smoothie King Center on Thursday, their third win in a row.
Jerami Grant was a top performer with 27 points and eight rebounds. The Trail Blazers are the second seed in the Western Conference, one game behind the Utah Jazz.
Dallas lost on Thursday at Capital One Arena, falling to the Washington Wizards 113-105. Spencer Dinwiddie had 33 points and six assists in the losing effort to lead the team. The Mavericks are the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Dallas swept all three games between the teams last season, the last of which was a 128-78 triumph at American Airlines Center on April 8, their fourth straight head-to-head victory.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Drew Eubanks had 18 points in the losing effort. Anfernee Simons and Grant, averaging 22.1 and 19.2 points per game, respectively, have led the Blazers in scoring this season. Both are among the league’s top scorers, as Simons is No. 1 and Grant is first.
Meanwhile, Josh Hart is dishing 4.5 assists per game, most in the league, and Jusuf Nurkic is grabbing 11.2 rebounds per game (7th). Doncic’s 33.6 points per game have powered the Mavs on offense. He has the No. 1 scoring average in the league.
Doncic has also put up 8.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, for which he ranks first and first in the NBA, respectively. Half-court execution will be critical in this matchup that features two of the league’s slowest-paced teams, as the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks rank 28th and 27th, respectively, in possessions per game.
The teams have split their last 10 matchups at American Airlines Center (5-5). Portland is seeking a fourth consecutive win on the road this season.
Dallas has won four straight at home this season.Portland is 7-3 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +2.1 (108.1-106.0). Dallas has gone 6-4 over the last 10, scoring 110.4 points per game on average while holding opponents to 106.7 (+3.7 margin).
TRAIL BLAZERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Jusuf Nurkic: 8.7 | 13.0 | -4.3
Assists per game:
Damian Lillard: 6.5 | 5.1 | +1.4
MAVERICKS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Tim Hardaway Jr.: 8.2 | 11.3 | -3.1
Rebounds per game:
Dwight Powell: 5.2 | 4.0 | +1.2
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Over 214.5 (-110)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NBA hub page for all your basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
