LUKA Dončić matched his career best of eight 3-pointers and scored 37 points in just three quarters as the Dallas Mavericks steamrolled the host Portland Trail Blazers (132-92) on Sunday night.
Dončić missed just once from long range and collected seven rebounds as the Mavericks led by as many as 45 points while winning for the 13th time in the past 18 games. The winning margin was the club’s second-largest of the season behind a 124-73 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 27.
Josh Richardson scored 21 points and Dorian-Finney Smith added 13 for Dallas, which made 19 of 37 from 3-point range and shot 55.8 percent overall. Kristaps Porziņģis had 12 points, while Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Dwight Powell tallied 11 apiece.
Damian Lillard scored 19 points and Gary Trent, Jr. added 16 for Portland, which had a three-game winning streak halted. Nassir Little scored 14 points and CJ McCollum added 13 for the Trail Blazers.
Lillard (seven attempts) and McCollum (five) missed all 12 of their 3-point attempts. Portland was just 9 of 41 from behind the arc while shooting 38.2 percent overall.
The one-sided triumph marked Dallas’ lone win in the season’s three meetings with Portland. The Trail Blazers beat the Mavericks (125-119) on Friday despite Dončić’s 38 points.
The other time Dončić made eight 3-pointers also came versus the Trail Blazers. He was 8-of-12 in a 120-112 win on Jan. 17, 2020. Dončić drained three 3-pointers during a 19-0 run to start the second half. — Reuters