DALLAS – Luka Doncic returned from a two-game absence to score 27 points, Daniel Gafford added 23 off the bench and Kyrie Irving finished with 20 as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 132-108 on Monday night.

Doncic shot 10 of 19 overall and 1 of 7 on 3-pointers after missing Dallas’ previous two games because of a bruised left heel. He had seven rebounds and seven assists.

Doncic, who won the scoring title last season with a career-best 33.9 points per game, was fifth in the NBA this season and entered Monday averaging 28.9 points while finished seventh with 8.2 assists. He recorded triple-doubles in three of the four games before his injury, including on December 15 when he posted 45 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a 143-133 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

The Mavericks have won 14 of their last 17 games after snapping their only losing streak of the season, a four-game stretch from Nov. 8-14.

Deni Avdija scored 19 goals off the bench to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost eight of their last nine games. Deandre Ayton scored 16 points, including 10 in the second quarter.

The Mavericks opened the second period with a 21-9 run and outscored the Blazers 74-45 in the middle periods. In the fourth quarter they were even ahead by 32 points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.