The scuffling Dallas Mavericks figure to be happy to see the Portland Trail Blazers on the schedule for Monday night.
Dallas will seek to knock off the host Trail Blazers for the 15th time in the past 18 meetings when the clubs battle for the second time this season.
The Mavericks recorded a 138-133 overtime win at home against Portland on Nov. 16. Seven Dallas players scored in double figures to offset a season-best 36-point outing from the Trail Blazers’ Shaedon Sharpe.
Dallas will play in the Pacific Northwest after losing 126-116 at the Golden State Warriors on Christmas and 113-107 at the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.
The Mavericks are 1-4 in their last five games, with their lone victory the only home contest, 131-130 against Denver on Dec. 23. The four setbacks have all been by 10 points or less.
“I think the road trip has been tough,” Dallas forward P.J. Washington said. “Obviously, we’re professionals. There’s no excuses. We have to be better. We can’t just blame it on that.
“I think the biggest thing for us was turnovers. If we clean up a little bit of that, it’s a different outcome. Being able to rebound and not making silly turnovers.”
The Mavericks committed 21 turnovers against the Kings, with star rookie Cooper Flagg having five.
Flagg acknowledged feeling some fatigue on the hectic trip. The game against Portland will be the 33rd of his NBA career, nearly matching last season’s 37-game count as a Duke freshman.
“It’s different,” Flagg said of the NBA schedule. “You don’t have as much time in between, you don’t get a break for holidays. It’s just different. You got to learn how to deal with it pretty quickly and figure it out on the go.”
Flagg was good other than the miscues against the Kings as he recorded 23 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Dallas big man Anthony Davis (adductor soreness) sat out against Sacramento and is listed as questionable for Monday. He has played in just 16 of the team’s 33 games this season.
Portland, meanwhile, is coming off a solid 114-108 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Trail Blazers committed 17 first-half turnovers and trailed by eight at the break. But Portland impressively reversed course and had just four second-half miscues while outscoring Boston by 14 to improve to 1-3 on a five-game homestand.
“It’s tricky; it’s hard to tell them, ‘Don’t turn the ball over,’ because then the reaction, ‘Well, I’m going to be less aggressive,’ ” Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “It’s a balance or, OK, try not to get those dumb ones where the guy is right there and you pass it over there or you see a hand in the passing lane and you throwing it or trying a difficult one.”
Sharpe was 5 of 8 from 3-point range while scoring 26 points for Portland. Standout Deni Avdija added 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Toumani Camara registered 20 points.
Donovan Clingan also had a solid contribution with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
“(Clingan) protecting the rim, his rebounding was huge,” Splitter said. “But as a group, the energy was there. We were fighting every screen. (The Celtics) have great players that can shoot the ball, one of the best shooting teams in the league, so they had to fight all those screens, getting over or under. They did a good job navigating those situations.”
Portland forward Jerami Grant (Achilles) is likely to miss his sixth straight game.
