Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks score, takeaways: Damian Lillard scores 61 to lead Portland to win in NBA bubble

The Trail Blazers move into the Western Conference's eighth seed with the win

Damian Lillard is a superhero. That is the only appropriate reaction to his 61-point eruption against the Dallas Mavericks in a 134-131 victory only two days after dropping 51 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Dallas, behind 36 points from Kristaps Porzingis and a near-triple-double from Luka Doncic did everything in their power to slow Lillard down, but he would not be denied, and now, the Blazers are in the driver's seat for the Western Conference's final playoff spot. 

By winning and watching the Memphis Grizzlies lose to the Boston Celtics, Portland jumped up to No. 8 in the Western Conference. Assuming they win their finale on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets, they will need to be beaten twice in the play-in starting Saturday in order to be knocked out of the postseason. Dallas, meanwhile, is now all but assured the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round date with the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams will be underdogs in the playoffs (should Portland even get there), but if the offensive fireworks in this one are any indication, neither is going to be an easy matchup for the two Los Angeles juggernauts. 

1. There isn't anything defenses can do against Damian Lillard anymore

Dallas, for the most part, played a conventional pick-and-roll defense against Damian Lillard. This, obviously, isn't a good idea. Dropping big men into the paint just invites the sort of pull-up 3s that Lillard found all game long. The problem is that there isn't really a viable alternative against him anymore. For years, defending Lillard was as simple as blitzing him off of the screen. Likely due to his smaller stature, Lillard struggled against double-teams. 

But that hasn't been a problem this year. Lillard has faced the third-most pick-and-roll traps per game in the NBA this season, per Synergy Sports, and is scoring a stellar 1.105 points per 100 possessions against them. That puts him in the 75th percentile league-wide, better than James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Had the Mavericks shifted their defense towards trapping Lillard, he would have swung the ball around to a set of teammates that have been excellent from behind the arc in Disney for easy 3-pointers. Dallas may have chosen the wrong answer against Lillard Tuesday, but there isn't a right answer anymore. No matter what you do, Lillard is going to score on you. 

2. Dallas regresses in the clutch

Saturday should have been a turning point. Overtime wins against the best team in the NBA are rare and should be viewed as opportunities for sustained growth, especially for a Dallas team that has the NBA's eighth-worth clutch net rating and fourth-most clutch losses. Beating the Bucks should have been a sign that the Mavericks were finally growing out of their fourth-quarter woes. Alas, they led this game by as many as six points in the fourth quarter, and Portland still beat them. That makes four fourth-quarter meltdowns for Dallas in seven games. 

The issues all season came on offense. At Disney, they've been on defense. The Mavericks are further along on their contention trajectory than most probably expected. They have time to sort these issues out before they become truly problematic. But it's going to take a reexamination of everything they're doing late in games over the offseason, because by most metrics, Dallas should be in the top half of the Western Conference. They aren't because of what happens in the fourth quarter. 

3. Kristaps Porzingis' footspeed is becoming an issue

Porzingis has been an excellent rim-protector this season. The issues have come just about everywhere else, and were exacerbated by Lillard. Even when he dropped, Lillard had no trouble racing around him. When he did come out to the perimeter, it practically created a free lane to the basket. Nobody is asking Porzingis to be Draymond Green, but modern offenses force big men to defend away from the rim at least a little bit. If he can ever do it, he'll be an All-Defense candidate. If he can't? Dallas is going to have to find ways to compensate defensively. 

[Aug 11, 2020 at 9:14 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Off the side of the backboard, and Portland escapes. Wow. Just... wow.

[Aug 11, 2020 at 9:13 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

CJ hits both. Timeout Dallas. 134-131 for Portland.

[Aug 11, 2020 at 9:12 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

McCollum has struggled all night, but can redeem himself with these free throws here.

[Aug 11, 2020 at 9:10 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Finney-Smith's jumper is called off. Offensive foul. Unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this.

[Aug 11, 2020 at 9:09 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Oh my God, Dame missed!