NBA Game Summary - Portland at Dallas
Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-tying 3 near the end of regulation and Chandler Parsons scored 10 points in overtime, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Nowitzki had 25 points, none more important that his straightaway 3 over two Blazers defenders with 21 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Portland's Damian Lillard held for a 3-pointer he missed at the buzzer, Parsons opened overtime with two free throws to give the Mavericks their first lead since the second quarter and they never trailed again.
Nowitzki added a jumper, Monta Ellis knocked down a 3 and Parsons scored on a layup to cap a 9-0 run that made it 105-96.
Ellis finished with 20 points, Devin Harris scored 16 off the bench and Tyson Chandler added 11 points and 13 rebounds in Dallas' fifth win in six games.
Lillard scored 26 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who have lost seven in a row on the road. Wesley Matthews added 17 points for Portland.
The Mavericks finished the game on a 28-7 run beginning with around two minutes remaining in regulation.
"We just kept playing," said Dallas forward Al-Farouq Aminu. "We struggled all season playing a full 48-minute game. We'll play a really great first half and then have a letdown and today we just kept playing throughout the entire game. We didn't take the foot off the pedal; we kept playing even when things didn't go our way and something positive happened."
Aldridge scored 13 points in the third quarter, including five during a 10-0 run that gave the Blazers a 16-point lead in the final seconds. They led by 11 with under three minutes remaining before the Mavericks mounted a 13-2 run punctuated by Nowitzki's 3.
"I don't really have words right now," Matthews said. "I don't think I've ever been a part of a game like that or been on this side of it, on the losing side of that. But we have to bounce back; we have a tough one tomorrow in Houston."
Earlier, the Mavericks had a five-point lead in the first quarter but trailed 25-24 at the horn.
They were up by five again in the second quarter before Meyers Leonard scored five during a 13-0 run that gave the Blazers an eight-point advantage. Lillard capped the flurry with a 3-pointer to make it 42-34.
Dallas rallied to take the lead, but Portland ended the first half on an 11-5 burst for a 55-50 advantage at the break.