The Dallas Mavericks are now on a four-game winning streak after defeating the Portland Trailblazers 137-131 on the road on Sunday night. Luka Doncic returned from injury and scored 36 points along with seven rebounds and 13 assists. Anfernee Simons was the best man in the loss for Portland, scoring 27 goals in 23 foul-plagued minutes.

Doncic returned to action for the first time in six games, but injuries to the rest of the roster left him leading a motley lineup. Dallas got off to a bad start, Portland scoring at will while Dallas struggled to move the ball downfield. Doncic looked rusty, hitting just 2 of 7 from the floor. Spencer Dinwiddie got the bench offense going and allowed the Mavericks to close the gap a bit. After a quarter of play, the Mavericks trailed 29-25.

The Blazers got into foul trouble early, committing team fouls and putting Dallas in the bonus in the first five minutes of the quarter. With Anfernee Simons having foul trouble (four fouls!), the Mavericks took a key Portland offensive player off the floor. Luka’s advance passes helped Dallas pick up the tempo. But Portland survived the Dallas rally and extended its lead back to seven points, forcing a Dallas timeout at 4:30. The Mavericks finished the quarter tough, with Doncic dishing out dimes and sinking three-pointers. Dallas took a 61-58 lead at halftime.

The Mavericks came out with haymakers early; Jaden Hardy hit three straight three-pointers to give Dallas a double-digit lead. But after a long break in the second quarter, Simons showed a mission, pouring in baskets from all corners of the court to retake Dallas’ lead. The teams continued to trade wild baskets down the stretch, with Quentin Grimes scoring the final goal just before the final whistle, maintaining the lead Dallas had at halftime. The Mavericks led 100-97 after 36 minutes.

With Doncic on the bench at the start of the final period, Dallas’ substitutes took advantage of the opportunity and tried to bury the Blazers. Marks from Hardy, Powell and Dinwiddie gave Dallas an 11-point lead. But Portland just wouldn’t die and hit three after three to rally and give the Mavericks another decisive game. With Portland unable to recover from a missed shot, a number of calls went against the Blazers, including a harsh (but correct) offensive interference call on a made basket and a critically challenged offensive foul on Dinwiddie, that was reversed. Dallas held its own late into the night, outlasting Portland 137-131.

Now some additional thoughts:

Welcome back Luka Doncic

I’m not sure what overall perspective one can take from a game where four Dallas players in their regular rotation missed the game, but it was nice to see Doncic back. After a messy first quarter, he came alive in the second quarter, picking up the pace and darting the ball forward to release his teammates. Dallas has the players to be successful in attacking situations, and his pushes often resulted in balls even when he didn’t get an assist. Speaking of assists, Doncic finished the game with 13 and he could have had 20 if players had finished the shots he created. Overall, it was nice to see him again and look happy playing basketball.

Jaden Hardy, thawed

There’s a lot to like and a lot to be angry about when it comes to Jaden Hardy. He got a rare start tonight given the injury issues plaguing Dallas, but then came out in the first half and shot terribly, just 1 of 7. He’s getting open looks, but they just haven’t fallen, like his ice-cold three-point shot before this game shows (13 to 50, 26%).

Dallas and Doncic didn’t give up on Hardy, however, and he rewarded them with crazy shooting in the third period, hitting three straight triples to give Dallas a strong lead. He was a good catch-and-shoot guy during his time in Dallas. Not sure if he can do more on a regular basis, but it’s nice to see a guy catch up with the shots we know he can make.

Points from ball losses made the difference

In a game where Dallas shot 55% from the field and 50% from three and Portland shot a stellar 58% from both the field and the three-point line, something had to give. In the end it was the ball losses. Portland turned the ball over 21 times and Dallas scored 33 points from those giveaways. Dallas gave the ball away 13 times and the Blazers scored 21 points after those possessions. In a six-point game, those additional turnovers made all the difference.