PORTLAND, Ore. – Shaedon Sharpe had 23 points, Anfernee Simons scored 22 and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 126-122 on Saturday night.

Deandre Ayton had 21 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks and Deni Avdija had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Scoot Henderson scored 19 points, four rebounds, six assists and five steals off the bench, a career-best.

Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 46 points and was the only consistent offensive threat for the Mavericks, who played without Naji Marshall, PJ Washington – suspended for their involvement in an on-court fight against the Suns – Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II.

Irving had 20 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas tried to mount a comeback that ultimately failed.

Takeaways

Blazers: Saturday was Portland’s second straight win, just its second win streak of the season.

Mavericks: Other than Irving, no other Mavericks player was able to shoulder the scoring load as much of Dallas’ rotation was sidelined due to injury or suspension.

Key moment

After Dallas staged a comeback in the fourth quarter, Ayton Thompson stole the ball on the sideline with 20 seconds left to end the game.

Key statistics

Portland outrebounded Dallas 50-40 and outscored them 58-38 in the game.

Next

The Blazers face the Philadelphia 76ers at home on Monday night. The Mavericks will face the Kings later that evening in Sacramento.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba