Deni Avdija recorded 27 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers notch a 125-122 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Caleb Love made the go-ahead free throws in the final minute, sank six 3-pointers and scored 24 points off the bench as Portland won its second straight game. Shaedon Sharpe also scored 24 points while Donovan Clingan added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Dallas’ Klay Thompson had a 3-point bid to force overtime bounce off the rim just before time expired.
Max Christie made five 3-pointers while scoring 25 points and Brandon Williams added 22 off the bench for Dallas, which lost for the fifth time in six games.
Daniel Gafford had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Naji Marshall also scored 17 for the Mavericks. Cooper Flagg contributed 15 points and eight assists, and Thompson scored 14 points.
Dallas star Anthony Davis (adductor) missed his second straight game.
Christie’s 3-pointer with 6:56 left in the game put Dallas ahead 106-105, the Mavericks’ first lead since 9-8 in the opening three-plus minutes.
Williams connected on a floater to give Dallas a 115-113 edge with 3:50 remaining, and Flagg added two free throws 37 seconds later.
Portland answered with seven consecutive points on Avdija’s layup, Love’s 3-pointer and Sharpe’s fastbreak layup to take a 120-117 lead with 2:12 remaining.
Christie scored the next five Dallas points, including a trey that gave the Mavericks a 122-121 lead with 1:09 left.
Love made two free throws to Portland back ahead with 53.2 seconds left.
After Marshall missed a 3-point attempt with six seconds to play, Sharpe sank two free throws with three seconds to go, making it a three-point game.
Portland shot 47.4% from the field, including 16 of 41 (39%) from 3-point range.
The Mavericks made 50.5% of their attempts from the floor and finished 11 of 32 (34.4%) from behind the arc.
Avdija and Sharpe each scored 16 points in the first half as the Trail Blazers held a 75-63 lead.
Love’s 3-pointer at the buzzer in the first quarter gave Portland a 42-29 lead. The Trail Blazers increased the gap to 17 on Rayan Rupert’s basket early in the second quarter.
Thompson banked in a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in the third quarter, and Dallas trailed 97-93 entering the fourth.
Thompson drilled another 3-pointer to tie it at 99 with 9:35 remaining in the contest.
