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The Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks produced the most thrilling encounter on the NBA's three-game slate on Thursday night. It was the Mavs who emerged victorious, 133-125, but it wasn't without a formidable challenge from the home side.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, Portland superstar point guard Damian Lillard was whistled for an ill-timed technical foul — a call that the 29-year-old blasted in his post-game presser.
Tonight @Dame_Lillard picked up a technical in the final few minutes of the game.
He said afterwards it was because of the explanation a referee gave him of a non-call on his reverse lay-up with less than 4 minutes to play
"That's an insult. It's frustrating as hell." pic.twitter.com/ZlcMoRiR4W
— AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) January 24, 2020
Lillard was obviously unhappy with how things turned out in that particular play and he was not shy about making his feelings known after the game.
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Lillard was tremendous yet again for the Blazers on Thursday, logging a game-high 47 points (16-of-28 from the floor, 7-of-7 from the charity stripe), eight triples, six rebounds, eight assists, and a steal in 42 minutes of action. Nonetheless, his heroics was not enough to lead a short-handed Portland side to a home victory against the Mavs.
New recruit Trevor Ariza made quite an impression on his debut for the Blazers, going for 21 points (7-of-11 form the field, 3-of-4 from the line), four 3-pointers, seven rebounds, a couple of assists, and two steals in 36 minutes played.
This marks Portland's third loss in the past four games, as they continue to sit on the outside looking in on the playoffs picture in the West. Currently at 19-27, they are 10th in the conference and are two and a half games behind the eighth-seeded San Antonio Spurs. There's no doubt that Lillard has been cooking for the Blazers, but he will need a ton of help if this team hopes to make another extended run in the postseason.
