NBA Game Summary - Portland at Dallas

03.18.2005

Dallas, TX (Basketball News) - Josh Howard finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and hit a key three-pointer down the stretch to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 98-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at American Airlines Center.

Michael Finley netted 17 points and Marquis Daniels added 16, as the Mavericks won for the third time in four games. Dirk Nowitzki posted 15 points and nine rebounds in the win, while Keith Van Horn chipped in 14 points and eight boards.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Damon Stoudamire recorded 20 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped three in a row and nine of their last 10 games. Joel Przybilla ended with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the setback, while Sebastian Telfair notched 16 points and six assists.

Portland carried a one-point edge into the fourth quarter at 67-66 and the score remained close throughout the fourth quarter.

Dallas went ahead 90-87 on a pair of free throws by Howard with 3:20 left, but Stoudamire drilled a three-pointer just over a minute later to even the score. However, Howard drilled a three-pointer with 1:59 remaining to give the Mavs the lead for good.

Portland had a chance to tie the game after the Mavs went ahead 94-92 on Jason Terry’s free throw with 35 seconds left. However, Abdur-Rahim was short on a hook shot in the lane and the Blazers were forced to foul Nowitzki with 17.7 seconds left. Nowitzki made both shots and hit two more after another Portland miss to seal the win.

"I think everyone played hard, we fought till the end," said Abdur-Rahim. "We’re a little down though, we’re a little wounded to have lost this one."

The Blazers held a 46-44 edge at halftime and late in the third quarter that margin grew to 67-60. However, the Mavs closed the period with six straight point to make it a one-point game after 36 minutes.

Portland held a slim 12-11 advantage midway through the first quarter, but used a 10-2 burst to close the period and open a 22-13 advantage after 12 minutes of action.

Dallas would cut the deficit to 46-44 at halftime after outscoring Portland, 31-24, in the second quarter.

Abdur-Rahim led all scorers with 12 points at the break, while Terry and Howard added nine points apiece for the Mavericks.

Dallas has won five straight and six of the last seven meetings with the Blazers...Portland has dropped four in a row and seven of its last eight in Dallas...The Mavericks are 27-8 when holding their opponents to under 100 points this season...Terry finished with 12 points and seven assists for Dallas...Portland committed 18 turnovers compared to just 10 for the Mavs.

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