Mavs Lose At The Buzzer

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The Dallas Mavericks lost 106-104 to the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday. The Mavericks (19-26) currently sit in 11th place in the conference, three spots away from being in playoff contention.

Dallas had a firm control of the game throughout the first half leading the game 59-42 at the end of the half. The Mavericks held a 20 point lead with 6:48 left in the third quarter before the Trailblazers rallied, finishing the game with only a six point deficit.

With the game tied and 7:26 remaining in the game, the two teams battled until a Shawn Marion three pointer seemed to seal the game for the Mavericks with 11.9 seconds left and a 104-101 lead. The Mavericks fire was quickly distinguished after Lamarcus Aldrich made a game tying three and scored the game-winning shot with under a second left.

Dallas was a few plays shy of adding another game to their win streak. Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki believes that those few plays are the biggest difference this season.

“The difference between a good team and a bad team is just a couple of possessions down the stretch of a close game,” said Nowitzki, “For some reason, we haven’t found a way to win those games consistently.”

The Mavericks were without Chris Kaman due to a concussion. Rookie Bernard James started in his absence and contributed with 10 points. All five Mavericks starters finished in double digit scoring for the game.Nowitzki led the Mavericks with a season-high 26 points.

The Dallas Mavericks head to Golden State to take on the Warriors on Thursday. Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m.