The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers will face off Friday, March 27, at 10:00 PM ET at the Moda Center in Portland. Both teams are dealing with absences.
Dallas will be without Kyrie Irving (left knee, surgery), Dereck Lively II (right foot, surgery), Daniel Gafford (right shoulder, sprain), and Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia, strain). Moussa Cisse and John Poulakidas are listed as doubtful, while Tyler Smith is probable, all from the team’s two-way G League assignments.
Portland will be missing Damian Lillard (left Achilles tendon, injury management), Shaedon Sharpe (left fibula, stress reaction), and Jayson Kent (G League, two-way). Vit Krejci is doubtful with a left calf contusion, and Robert Williams III is questionable with left knee management. Hansen Yang and Chris Youngblood are also unavailable due to G League assignments, pushing players like Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant, and Jrue Holiday into expanded roles.
The Mavericks enter the matchup on a two-game losing streak after close contests against the Golden State Warriors (131-137 OT) and Denver Nuggets (135-142).
The Trail Blazers, conversely, have won their last two home games, beating the Brooklyn Nets 134-99 and the Milwaukee Bucks 130-99.
The teams split two prior meetings this season, with Portland winning 125-122 in December and Dallas taking a 138-133 OT win in November.
Dallas’ leading scorer Cooper Flagg averages 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, while P.J. Washington contributes 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds. Max Christie adds 12.6 points per game with 41.2% shooting from three.
The Mavericks’ frontcourt will be tested against Portland’s Donovan Clingan, who posts 12.4 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, and Jerami Grant, who averages 18.6 points with 3.5 rebounds. Deni Avdija leads Portland with 23.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per contest.
The Mavericks remain near the bottom of the Western Conference with a 23-50 record, while Portland sits at .500 (37-37), trying to climb closer to the playoff cut line.
