Player Ratings: Recap of the Mavericks’ 117-111 comeback win over the Portland Trail Blazers

The Dallas Mavericks (22-16) earned a 117-111 victory that they desperately needed against Portland Trail Blazers (1-24) Thursday at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks finally stopped screwing around with about six minutes left to play and came back from 10 points down early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas’ perimeter defense sank the ship through three quarters, but then the Mavs began to play with a sense of desperation worthy of the moment before them. You can’t lose to Portland twice in the same season, and you absolutely had to get this win before the schedule takes a turn for the brutal for the rest of January.

Here’s how the Mavericks scored individually in an effort that was three parts piss-poor with a heaping helping of 4-quart onions.

Spencer Dinwiddie: C

17 points / 5 rebounds / 5 assists / 1 steal (35 minutes)

Dinwiddie was a head scratcher against the Blazers, especially with his perimeter defense. He got away from his man on more than one occasion in the first half as Portland made 10-of-18 of its 3-point attempts en route to a 58-53 halftime lead. He looked Dereck Lively II in the pick-and-roll game on several occasions.

Dinwiddie’s quick pull-up 3-pointer before the defense sets itself needs to be shelved until at least the All-Star Break. We’d love it if he’d trade that signature move to recognize when the man he’s guarding heats up from 3-point range and even put in a bit of effort to get a hand in the face. For the first time all night he really tried to close on a 3-point shooter, he fouled Deni Avdija on a made 3-pointer that put the Blazers up 85-75 with under three minutes left in the third. Dinwiddie made some plays down the stretch and stuffed the stat sheet a bit to even things out — but only enough for a barely passing grade.

Klay Thompson: D

3 points/4 rebounds/1 assist/1 steal (22 minutes)

Thompson left a lot to be desired in his perimeter defense in the first half, missing all four of his 3-point attempts. His touch left him Thursday, and Thompson didn’t do anything else well enough to mitigate how ugly it looked. He couldn’t decide between a head fake and a contested 3-pointer early in the fourth and ended up hitting the ball out of bounds for a turnover as the Mavs entered the final frame down 89-81. He was slow to get out on Shaedon Sharpe after another Blazer offensive rebound with nine minutes left, and Sharpe connected from the corner to force a Dallas timeout down 97-88.

PJ Washington: A+

23 points / 14 rebounds / 1 assist / 3 steals / 1 block (35 minutes)

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

Washington missed its first four shot attempts as the Mavericks got off to a 1-for-13 start from the field. However, he bounced back in the second with seven points and four rebounds in the frame. He lost the ball late in the fourth, leading to a wide-open Toumani Camara 3-pointer at an inopportune time to extend Portland’s lead to 109-99 with just 4:33 left. Washington hit two key free throws with 2:17 left to tie the game, 109-109, then knocked down a huge 3-pointer the next time to put the Mavs in front with 1:58 on the clock. That shot gave him enough extra credit to forgive any previously missed assignments.

Daniel Gafford: D+

2 points / 4 rebounds / 2 assists / 3 blocks (10 minutes)

Gafford watched Trail Blazers big man Donovan Clingan knock down a wide-open 3-pointer late in the first quarter, then gave the ball away to Scoot Henderson immediately on the other end. However, we have to give credit to Gafford for hunting Henderson down and blocking his fast-break layup attempt. Late in the second quarter, he tried to thread the needle with an ill-advised, off-balance pass to Washington that was predictably intercepted by Camara.

Gafford came up with another highlight block on a Shaedon Sharpe drive midway through the third that led to a Naji Marshall fast-break dunk. Then a minute later he was driving hard to the hoop and clinking a rabbit as Clingan appeared behind him. Lively’s tremendous fourth quarter rendered Gafford useless in the game’s biggest minutes.

Naji Marshall: B-

11 points/2 rebounds/4 assists (26 minutes)

Marshall rattled home the Mavs’ drought-breaking field goal after 10 straight missed shots in the first quarter when he made a nice cut and drive to get into the paint for the drop runner. He didn’t do much after that though. He let Deni Avdija rebound his own missed free throw early in the third quarter, a level of lethargy rarely seen from Marshall. He drove down the court on a mission after a nice find from Thompson with under seven minutes to play. His 3-point play made it 101-93 and started an 18-2 Dallas run to end the game.

Quentin Grimes: B+

13 points / 5 rebounds / 4 assists / 1 steal (27 minutes)

Grimes picked up right where he left off in Tuesday’s 118-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He hit his first two 3-point attempts while the rest of the Mavericks’ offense sputtered to a 28-20 deficit at the end of one. He made a savvy hustle play on a loose ball near midcourt to start a third-quarter fast break that led to a layup by Marshall that pulled Dallas to within one, down 74-73 with 5:16 left in the frame.

Grimes forced an Anfernee Simons turnover with good on-ball defense late in the fourth when the Mavs were down 109-105. That led to two spirited free throws as the frantic comeback attempt was in full effect. He drove baseline for a lopsided 3-point play with 32 seconds left to extend the Dallas lead to 115-109, cap what was then a super-clutch 16-0 run and effectively seal the deal.

Jaden Hardy: A+

25 points/2 assists/1 steal (29 minutes)

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

Hardy shows us something in the last two games. His confidence can sometimes lead to turnovers, but on Thursday it led to a season-high 25 points. On a possession that included two straight Dallas offensive rebounds early in the second quarter, he stepped in for his second made 3-pointer of the game and drained it to bring the Mavs within two points, down 30-28, and force a Portland timeout . . Hardy’s heat-check 3-ball with eight minutes left in the second tied the game at 35-35 and gave him 13 points early. He made 4-of-5 from deep en route to 18 points in the first half, then finished the second quarter going 1-of-5 from the field. In the end, we’ll take it.

Hardy didn’t enter the second half until late in the third quarter, when Mavs head coach Jason Kidd preferred to bang his head against the wall with a flailing Dinwiddie eating up minutes over the hotter hand of Hardy.

Maxi Glue: C+

2 points/2 assists/1 steal (12 minutes)

Sometimes it feels like Kleber is actively trying to blend into the background. And sometimes, that’s all the Mavs need to blend into the background and not break anything.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper: B

3 rebounds / 2 assists / 1 steal (9 minutes)

O-Max made a nice play on a drive and dish for a Hardy 3-pointer early in the second and pulled down an offensive board on a possession that led to another Hardy 3. He comes in where he fits in.

Derek Lively II: A

21 points / 16 rebounds / 1 assist / 3 blocks (35 minutes)

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

Lively came with plenty of energy against the Trail Blazers, but he also missed a few bunnies that should have been easy dunks instead of finesse-ins. Double-double is good to see. The three blocked shots were signs of a solid effort. He was also one half of the Mavs center duo that at times seemed to have no answer for the rookie Clingan. Those were all the thoughts I had before he delivered a stunning 13-point, six-rebound firestorm of a fourth-quarter effort. He made the plays that turned the momentum in the Mavericks’ favor with under six minutes to play. His third blocked shot, his thunderous jam on a find from Marshall and his defense down low on possession after possession were huge down the stretch.