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When the Portland Trail Blazers (17-12) take on the Dallas Mavericks (20-8) on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center, it will mark the the first game of one of the most difficult and important back-to-backs the Trail Blazers will play this season. Not only will Portland be facing some of the elite Western Conference competition, but the combination of playing Dallas and San Antonio on back-to-back nights is one of the most difficult match ups for any team to face. Opening tip is scheduled for 5:30 PST.
The recent history between these two teams has not been favorable for the Trail Blazers. Last season, the Mavericks swept the season series for the fourth time in five seasons. The Mavs have been particularly dominate at home in this series, having won 11 straight games in Dallas. The last time that the Trail Blazers won in Dallas was January 26, 2003, and the 11 straight losses is Portland's longest current road losing streak against any opponent. After opening this four-game road trip with a tough loss in Orlando, the Trail Blazers responded in impressive fashion with the 102-95 win over Miami on Sunday afternoon. As he has done throughout the month of December, Brandon Roy led the way with the game on the line. Roy, who shot a remarkably efficient 11-14 from the field, scored 28 points and dished out eight assists in the win. Roy matched his career-high with five three-pointers, and he has now scored 23 or more points in ten consecutive games. Game Preview || Preview || Video: Pendergraph Works His Way Back
A night after struggling with their outside shots, getting pounded on the boards, and setting an all-time record for fewest assists in a game, the Trail Blazers managed a complete recovery and posted one of their more important wins of the season. The fact that the Blazers won in Miami should have surprised absolutely no one, as their all-time record in this city is amazing. They're now 17-5 all time versus the Heat in Miami.
On Saturday in Orlando, the Trail Blazers led throughout most of the first three quarters. But, after a Magic run that started during the final play of the third quarter, the Blazers couldn't pick themselves up in time to recover. Nothing was falling from the field, and they faded badly in the fourth. Sunday night, thing looked to be setting up the same way. Midway through the third quarter, the Blazers were down six and fired back with an 18-2 run. That gave them a 10-point lead. But, Miami then quickly answered with a 17-2 run to rebuild a five-point lead. Unlike the Orlando game, Portland wasn't going anywhere. Game Info || Box Score || Trailblazers.com Podcast || Highlights  |
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