DALLAS — The Portland Trail Blazers’ rough five-game trip ended with another dose of heartbreak.
The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Blazers 138-134 in overtime Sunday night at America Airlines Center, riding hot second-half shooting and a clutch finish to end a three-game losing streak in Dallas.
The loss, which came two days after their most lopsided defeat of the season and an impromptu players-only meeting, sent the Blazers to their lowest point of 2025. Portland has dropped five of its last seven games, which included a 1-4 stumble on a trip that included multiple down-to-the-wire finishes.
The Blazers played their ninth “clutch-time” game — when the score is within five points at some point in the final five minutes — and four came on this trip. Sunday merely offered another round of anguish for a shorthanded team that learned shortly before tipoff it would have to play without Jrue Holiday, who missed his first game of the season.
The Blazers could have used him down the stretch as they tried to preserve a 129-128 lead with less than two minutes remaining in overtime.
The Mavericks (4-10) took the lead on a pair of Daniel Gafford free throws with 1:39 left, after Deni Avdija committed his sixth personal foul. And they pulled away from there, using a mix of clutch shot-making and timely free throws to stave off the Blazers (6-7).
The backbreakers came after Gafford gave Dallas the lead. Shaedon Sharpe, who struggled from the field most of the night, bricked a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Cooper Flagg snared the rebound and heaved a long outlet pass to P.J. Washington for a breakaway dunk and a 132-129 lead.
On the next play, Sharpe missed again — this time on a driving dunk in traffic — and when Gafford added two more free throws on the other end, the Mavericks led 134-129 and Portland never recovered.
Top performers
Flagg finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Washington added 21 points and seven rebounds and Gafford finished with 20 points for the Mavericks, who had seven players finish with double-digits in scoring.
Sharpe led the Blazers with 39 points, but made just 12 of 32 shots, including 3 of 9 threes. Avdija added 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Blazers, who played without three injured points guards.
A Flagg first
The Blazers faced Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft, for the first time Sunday night.
They held the 6-foot-9 forward in check in the first half, limiting him to just two points on 1-for-3 shooting. But he found his groove in the third quarter and finished the game with more than one highlight that made it clear why he was sought after by every team in the league.
Flagg erupted for 10 points in the third quarter, thanks to 4-for-5 shooting, and had perhaps the sequence of the night, snatching a steal on one end of the court and completing a three-point play on the other end. After picking off an Avdija pass, Flagg sprinted the other way, using a behind-the-back dribble to sneak past Toumani Camara. He worked up the court, weaving around Blazers defenders, and finished with a EuroStep layup in the lane, drawing a foul from Camara.
He also had a memorable fast-break finish in the first quarter, collecting a behind-the-back pass from Brian Williams and hammering home a two-handed dunk.
Flagg was a factor in overtime, recording four points, two rebounds and one assist to fuel Dallas’ win.
Holiday a late scratch
Holiday awoke Sunday morning with a sore right calf and was a late scratch from the Blazers’ starting lineup.
Holiday, who was listed as questionable Sunday afternoon, tested his calf during his normal pregame workout but was later ruled out. It was not immediately clear how long the ailment would sideline the veteran point guard, who is averaging 16.7 points, 8.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game this season.
The Blazers were already playing without two point guards — Scoot Henderson and Blake Wesley — so Holiday’s injury made an already-thin backcourt even thinner.
Next up
The Blazers host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the opener of a home back-to-back. The game is airing on NBC/Peacock, marking Portland’s first appearance on the network since it signed a multiyear media rights deal to air NBA games.
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