Dallas: The Dallas Mavericks secured a thrilling 117-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, overcoming a sluggish start and finishing with an 18-2 run in the final minutes.

Despite missing star players Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks capitalized on strong individual performances, including Jaden Hardy’s 25-point outing and Dereck Lively’s first 20-point game of the season, finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Portland jumped to an early 28-20 lead in the first quarter, aided by six offensive rebounds.

Despite the slow start, Dallas closed the gap in the second quarter, but Portland’s scorching three-point shooting kept them ahead. The Trail Blazers shot 10-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first half, and Dallas went into the break trailing by a significant margin. In the second half, Dallas continued to fight back. They trimmed Portland’s lead to just one point, 74-73, in the third quarter, but the Trail Blazers responded with an 8-0 run to regain control. Throughout the fourth, the Mavericks made several attempts to close the gap, but Portland quickly answered each run, maintaining a solid lead for most of the period.