Stats rundown: 3 numbers from a Dallas Mavericks loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, 136-119

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night in Portland, falling 136-119. The Mavericks trailed most of the game, and were never able to make a serious run past the first quarter. The loss drops the Mavericks to 24-20 on the year, 5th in the Western Conference. The win brings the Blazers to record to 20-222, 12th in the West.

Damian Lillard led all scorers with 36 points and added 10 assists. Jusef Nurkic chipped in 22 points. Spencer Dinwiddie led the Mavericks with 25 points, while Reggie Bullock scored 24 (more on him in a minute). Luka Doncic scored 15 points and dished out 10 assists.

Here are three numbers from the game:

8: Number of 3-pointers by Reggie Bullock

Bullock has struggled all year, but tonight, he shook off all the rust. He went 8-of-10 from behind the arc, scoring 24 points. It’s a season-high for Bullock in points and 3-pointers made. Hopefully this means he’s breaking out of his season-long slump.

+22: Trail Blazer’s margin on points in the paint

The Mavericks continued to struggle in the paint, getting outscored by the Blazer’s 50-28 in the lane. Due to injury issues the Mavericks are short on rim protectors, and they just can’t create shots in the paint. They’re relying too heavily on their jump shooting, which comes and goes game to game. Jason Kidd and the coaching staff need to find a way to manufacture more shots at the basket for the Mavericks.

15: Luka Doncic’s points, a season-low

Doncic played 53 minutes in Thursday’s win against the Los Angeles Lakers, and it showed tonight. He had no energy and couldn’t get the usual separation from defenders. Dinwiddie and Bullock did a good job of carrying the load a bit, but Dallas needed one more player to step up and just didn’t get it. It’s just the second game of less than 20 points for Doncic this season. He was ejected in the other game.

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