National Basketball Association
Dallas 114, Portland 98
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials:
#41 Ken Mauer, #16 David Guthrie, #73 Tre Maddox
Attendance:
20352
By The Sports Xchange
DALLAS -- Mavericks center Tyson Chandler scored 22 and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Dallas past the Portland Trail Blazers 114-98 in an otherwise glorified scrimmage to close out the regular season Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
The two clubs came in with their playoffs seeds secure, although neither had a first-round opponent sewn up as other games in the Western Conference were setting the playoff pairings.
The Pacific Division champion and fourth-seeded Blazers (51-31) will be matched up against either San Antonio or Memphis. Portland, however, won't have the homecourt edge due to the fifth seed's better record.
The No. 7 Mavericks (50-32) will open at No. 2 Houston (56-26) after the Rockets beat Utah and the Spurs lost at New Orleans.
Although nothing was truly at stake, the Mavericks were vocal about winning a milestone 50th game. Dallas has won at least 50 games 12 times since 2001, but hadn't since 2010-11.
Both the Blazers and Mavericks are hoping to get healthier for the postseason. Portland came into game No. 82 with various levels of uncertainty surrounding power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, center Chris Kaman, forward Nicolas Batum, guard CJ McCollum and guard Arron Afflalo.
Aldridge was the only one to suit up from that group, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds after missing two games with a foot sprain. The others hope to get back for Game 1 in Los Angeles.
Portland point guard Damian Lillard had 17 points and two assists in 29 minutes. Reserve guard Tim Frazier had 13 points and 10 assists.
The Mavericks were without starting small forward Chandler Parsons and reserve guard Devin Harris. Otherwise, coach Rick Carlisle went with a normal rotation in the finale.
Power forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 16, shooting guard Monta Ellis added 15 points and backup center Amar'e Stoudemire had 13 points.
The Mavericks were up 56-51 at halftime behind 17 points and 10 rebounds from Chandler. Dallas went on a 10-0 run to open the second half and soon had the lead up to 20.
Portland ended the season on a four-game losing streak.
NOTES: Dallas was without starting SF Chandler Parsons (knee) and key reserve G Devin Harris (toe). Parsons' injury is considered more serious. The Mavs are hopeful that he can return for the start of the playoffs. "He's listed day to day," coach Rick Carlisle said. "He's doing better. The signs right now are pretty positive." ... Trail Blazers PF LaMarcus Aldridge (foot) was back in the lineup after missing two games. ... Portland SF Nicolas Batum (knee) and SG CJ McCollum (ankle) were out. Both said they'll be ready for Game 1 of the first round in the playoffs. ... Dallas came into the game with 49 wins. The Mavs' last 50-win season was 2010-11, when they won the NBA championship. ... Portland PG Damian Lillard's 10 points against Oklahoma City gave him a season career-best 1,703 points in 81 games.
Top Game Performances
Portland |
|
Dallas |
LaMarcus Aldridge 19 |
Scoring |
Tyson Chandler 22 |
Tim Frazier 10 |
Assists |
Rajon Rondo 7 |
Meyers Leonard 9 |
Rebounds |
Tyson Chandler 15 |
Damian Lillard 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Tyson Chandler 12 |
Allen Crabbe 3 |
Steals |
Monta Ellis 2 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 1 |
Blocks |
Charlie Villanueva 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Portland
|
98 |
41.8 |
7-25 |
15-18 |
20 |
45 |
4 |
7 |
19 |
Dallas
|
114 |
45.3 |
9-25 |
27-34 |
18 |
54 |
5 |
9 |
16 |