‘Big Win On The Road’: Dallas Mavericks Snap Five‑Game Skid Behind Marvin Bagley III’s 26 In 100–93 Win Over Portland Trail Blazers

PORTLAND, Ore. — Marvin Bagley III scored a season-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting, Cooper Flagg poured in 20 first-half points, and the Dallas Mavericks finally won one of the close ones, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 100-93 on Friday night at Moda Center to snap a five-game losing streak.

Naji Marshall added 19 points and 5 steals. Brandon Williams contributed 10 points and 5 assists in his return to the arena where his NBA career began, making the free throws down the stretch that sealed it. Dallas improved to 24-50. Portland fell to 37-38.

Williams’s connection to Moda Center runs deep. His first NBA game came here with the Trail Blazers — a stint he remembers vividly, including the chaos that followed.

“I do remember that game. It might’ve actually been against Dallas,” Williams said. “I remember going against Brandon Knight. That was when the COVID situation was flaring up, and he got COVID the next day. I was about to go back to LA — my hometown — on a 10-day at the time. Then I got COVID right before the flight, so I couldn’t go home. But yeah, I definitely remember that day. That’s crazy.”

Friday was a better night.

“Big win on the road, especially being the last game,” coach Jason Kidd said. “The guys — the energy and the fight was there.”

Flagg, asked what it felt like to finally win one of the close ones, was measured.

“It definitely always feels good to know that you can go down, capitalize, and get a win,” Flagg said.

A First Half Built on Aggression

Dallas wasted no time. Flagg opened the scoring with a layup off a Dwight Powell assist on the game’s first possession, Powell added a layup off a Max Christie dish, and the Mavericks were off. Portland briefly took the lead at 9-8 on a Jerami Grant 3-pointer, but Flagg drove for a dunk off a Marshall assist to reclaim it and Dallas never looked back.

Marshall stripped Scoot Henderson twice in quick succession to fuel a decisive first-quarter run. Christie converted a 3-pointer off a Marshall assist, Bagley — who entered for Powell at 6:31 of the first quarter — added a floater, a tip-in, and a floating jumper in rapid succession, and Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer off a Bagley assist to push it to 26-16 and force a Portland timeout.

That make surpassed Tim Hardaway Jr. for the most 3-pointers off the bench by a Maverick in a single season, giving Thompson 174 on the year. He now has 188 for the season, 12 shy of his 11th career season with 200 or more. Bagley added a 3-pointer and a dunk off a Thompson assist in the final 57 seconds to send Dallas into the second quarter up 32-22. His 11 first-quarter points were the highest-scoring quarter of his season.

The second quarter belonged to Flagg. He hit a running layup off a Christie assist, a pull-up jumper, a free throw, and a 14-foot pull-up on four straight Dallas possessions to push the lead to 40-28. P.J. Washington hit a 3-pointer off a Powell assist to make it 43-30. Marshall stole a pass, converted a layup, and found Bagley for a floating jumper to push the lead to 17 at 54-37. Portland’s Robert Williams III and Jrue Holiday combined to cut it to 56-51 in the final two minutes, with Deni Avdija‘s running layup making it a five-point game in the closing seconds.

Flagg entered the locker room with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting—his 11th career 20-point half. Per Elias Sports Bureau, that is more than the rest of this year’s rookie class combined.

“I thought we just did a good job getting spaced out there, and everybody was holding their space well,” Flagg said. “I thought it allowed me to kind of get loose a couple times and get some easy ones, and then settle in nicely.”

Washington saw the same thing from his vantage point.

“Just him being aggressive, being downhill,” Washington told Dallas Hoops Journal. “He hit some floaters, some mids, and his shot was falling, so we just tried to ride him out the whole first half. He did a great job. Obviously, in the second half, he kind of slowed up, but we’re here to pick him up.”

Kidd pointed to a specific moment just before halftime as emblematic of what Flagg brings in transition — a dead sprint up the court against Holiday in which Flagg, handling the ball, simply blew by the defender.

“Right before halftime, it was a race between him and Holiday,” Kidd said. “Holiday didn’t have the ball, he just had to run. Cooper had the ball and Cooper left him. It was pretty impressive because Holiday is one of the quicker defenders. It’s just amazing — his strides, his speed, and then his ability to finish with that speed.”

Portland Trail Blazers Tie It, Marvin Bagley III Keeps Answering

The third quarter was the most volatile of the game. Portland opened with a Donovan Clingan layup to cut it to 56-53, and Grant’s 3-pointer off an Avdija dish made it 60-58 inside two minutes. Washington hit a driving layup to push Dallas back to four, but Clingan answered and Grant tied it at 62 with two free throws.

Marshall immediately stole a Clingan pass and converted a layup to make it 64-62. Avdija tied it again. Then Toumani Camara tipped in a miss to give Portland its first lead since the opening quarter at 66-64, forcing a Dallas timeout.

Bagley came out of the timeout and hit a 3-pointer off a Thompson assist. Then tipped in a Marshall miss for 69-66. Then added a two-pointer off another Thompson assist to make it 71-66. Every time Portland answered, Bagley had a counter.

“He was being dominant,” Washington told Dallas Hoops Journal. “We were finding him and giving him the ball and just letting him do him. He’s scoring at a high level in the paint. He’s just a mismatch nightmare for them tonight. When he’s in the pick-and-roll, it’s good for us. If we hit him in the pocket, he can make plays, he can pass, he can score.”

Bagley said his teammates put him in the right positions all night.

“Just my teammates finding me in the right spots,” Bagley said. “I was able to find my openings, find my pockets within the offense. Guys were being aggressive driving, and I was doing my part to make myself available.”

He also acknowledged the conscious effort to pull Clingan — who finished with 17 rebounds in 32 minutes before fouling out — away from the rim.

“That was definitely a thought,” Bagley said. “We talked about that — coaches were talking to us about it. Guys like that always try to block shots and be involved, so I just tried to play off that.”

Kidd credited Powell for his role in neutralizing Clingan throughout the game.

“We’re never shorthanded with DP,” Kidd said. “Not just in this game but all season for us — his energy and his effort. We made a conscious effort of trying to keep bodies on Clingan and then get out and run.”

Portland refused to fold in the third. Holiday hit a pull-up, Avdija converted a running layup, and with Dallas up just one at 71-70, Kidd called another timeout. Williams hit two free throws, Bagley hit a 3-pointer off an AJ Johnson assist to push it to 76-70, and Thompson hit a 3-pointer off a Williams assist with 47 seconds left to make it 79-72. Henderson converted a layup off a Powell turnover with 18 seconds left to cut it to 79-76 heading to the fourth.

Deni Avdija Threatens, Brandon Williams and Marvin Bagley III Deliver

Powell opened the fourth with a running layup off a Flagg assist to make it 81-76. Marshall converted two free throws to push it to 83-76. Flagg added a running dunk off a Ryan Nembhard assist to make it 85-78.

Portland answered. Henderson hit a step-back 3-pointer to cut it to 85-81. Williams responded with a fadeaway and a two-footer to push it back to 89-83. Then Avdija took over. A driving layup off a Camara assist. A two-footer off a Holiday dish. Then Holiday buried a 3-pointer off a Henderson pass to tie it at 92-92 with 2:25 remaining.

It was Dallas’s 43rd clutch game of the season — the most in the league — and the Mavericks entered it with a 15-27 record in those situations. Bagley refused to let Portland have it. Williams fed him for a layup to make it 94-92. Two possessions later, Williams found Bagley again for a dunk — 96-92.

Bagley described what he saw on both plays.

“I just tried to get a good hit on my screen and roll hard,” Bagley said. “On the other one, he found me and I was able to get around Donovan and get a basket. Then the next one, same thing — rolling hard. He found me again, and I just tried to take my time, not rush, and get a quality look. Shoutout to my teammates for putting me in good positions. It’s good to have teammates like that.”

Williams converted a free throw with 27.2 seconds left, Marshall made one of two with 19.9 seconds left, and Williams knocked down both of his with 15.9 seconds remaining to close it at 100-93. Dallas moved to 16-27 in clutch games, leading the NBA with 43 such contests on the season.

“B. Will was really good,” Kidd said. “Decision-making, playmaking, and then making the free throws. And then defensively, I thought Coop — that play he had with the deflection there with the lob — that was big time.”

Before the game, Kidd had explained what Williams brings that no one else on the roster replicates.

“His speed alone, his ability to get down the floor and put pressure on the defense, is like no other,” Kidd said. “It’s something we missed when he was out.”

Flagg credited the group’s composure for keeping Portland coming.

“I thought just staying together,” Flagg said. “They obviously made a couple runs, but I think just staying together and staying the course. We executed when we had to and made the winning plays down the stretch.”

Bagley put it simply.

“Any win in this league is good to have, especially when you play together like we did tonight,” Bagley said. “I think we were all connected. Communication was at a high level defensively. It was a collective effort tonight, and we were able to get the job done.”

Williams, who has been part of a league-leading 43 clutch games this season — two more than any other team in the NBA — said winning one of them carries a weight beyond just the final score.

“That’s a crazy number,” Williams said. “But it’s good. Even if it’s not turning into wins, the experience is more than anything we can ask for. Even if it’s not for this year, it’ll help next year and later in our careers.”

Naji Marshall Sets the Dallas Mavericks’ Defensive Tone

Marshall drew the assignment on Avdija throughout the night, making life difficult at every turn. Avdija finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds, but earned each one. Marshall’s five steals were a reflection of his activity across 33 minutes, and the Mavericks held Portland to 93 points and 26.7% from 3-point range — a direct response to the defensive breakdowns that had plagued Dallas in recent games.

Marshall said his growth on both ends this season comes down to one thing.

“Just reading the game a little bit more,” Marshall told Dallas Hoops Journal. “Reading the whole floor, both hands on the floor, getting my team runs involved and just knowing how to attack matchups and different types of defensive schemes. I’m just learning the game.”

His downhill efficiency on offense has been equally consistent.

“I think I’ve just figured out how to get to my spots better,” Marshall told Dallas Hoops Journal. “I’m real comfortable in new spots. I put a lot of work in and just feel really comfortable getting downhill.”

Flagg pointed to the defensive improvement as a collective step forward.

“I thought it was much better,” Flagg said. “Since the break, our defense has been a little lax, and I know we’ve slipped a little bit. But I thought tonight was a much better job of defending at a high level.”

Washington pointed to communication as the key.

“I felt like we were locked in tonight on that end,” Washington told Dallas Hoops Journal. “We talked well, we had each other’s backs, and then we limited them to one shot and tried not to give up too many offensive rebounds. Then we ran.”

Kidd agreed, particularly praising the way Marshall handled guarding All-Star Deni Avdija, helping the rest of the unit execute.

“I thought Naji did an incredible job there on Deni, making sure that he didn’t get anything easy,” Kidd said. “He had to work for everything. The guys executed the game plan defensively.”

Kidd also addressed Marshall’s value in a broader context, noting that performances like Friday’s carry real business implications heading into the offseason.

“Using Naji as an example, he’s doing the right thing, and we have quite a few guys doing that,” Kidd said. “It’s easy to let go of the rope when you’re out, but we’ve had guys playing hard and being in games. Individually, you look at whether you improved, and whether that leads to an extension.”

Marvin Bagley III, the Bench, and the Role Players

Bagley said the growing chemistry with Williams and Thompson in pick-and-roll actions has been a natural development.

“Just reading the game, talking to each other — that’s the most important thing,” Bagley said. “Klay being a great shooter draws a lot of attention, so me understanding that and trying to make it easier for him has been great. And Brandon, the way he gets downhill and creates offense — I’m just trying to put myself in positions to give him pockets and make it easy for my teammates. It’s been great. We’ve just got to continue to build on what we did tonight.”

Thompson finished with 8 points in 18 minutes, going 2-of-10 from the field after his record-setting first-quarter make. The shooting numbers were lean, but his gravity as a floor spacer created opportunities for Bagley and Williams throughout the night.

Powell, starting for a second straight game in Gafford’s absence, contributed 2 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes and gave Dallas the physicality it needed against Clingan.

Christie contributed 1 point, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 25 minutes, was active defensively, and consistently held his position in the spacing that made Flagg’s first half possible. Nembhard finished with 2 assists in 12 minutes, including the feed to Flagg for the running dunk that pushed it to 85-78.

Rookie of the Year Race

Flagg and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel were teammates at Duke and remain locked in a race for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Asked postgame whether he and Knueppel talk about it, Flagg was quick to shut it down.

“No, we don’t talk about Rookie of the Year at all. Not at all,” Flagg said. “But I’ve definitely kept in touch with him throughout the whole year. That’s one of my brothers, and he’ll be one of my best friends the rest of my life. We’ve stayed connected and shared thoughts on things we see in our own individual games and try to help each other out as much as possible. That brotherhood and relationship is never going to die.”

Asked if there was any trash talk — a check-out-my-box-score moment — Flagg smiled and said, “No, nothing like that.”

The Blue Devil connection ran through the whole night. Bagley and Flagg are both Duke alumni, and the Blue Devils had beaten St. John’s University 80-75 in the Sweet 16 earlier Friday.

“I guess so. Two Duke wins, so I mean… the Dallas Blue Devil was one as well,” Flagg joked.

Bagley, asked what was more impressive — his 26 points or Duke’s Sweet 16 victory — gave the credit where he felt it was due.

“Man, I’m always pulling for my guys over there in Durham,” Bagley said. “I give them the credit — they’ve been fighting all year, so it’s good to see them win.”

Kidd said his support for Flagg’s ROY candidacy has never wavered, and he made clear the organization is actively invested in seeing him win it.

“Yeah, it’s a big priority,” Kidd said. “It’s a big award — you’re only a rookie once. Cooper has to do his part, and he is. He’s having a historic year. When you put his numbers up against past rookies who have won, it’s clear-cut — it’s not even close. Sometimes voting can be influenced differently — popularity, trends — but strictly based on numbers, Cooper is as good as anybody.”

Flagg said he has felt that support from the organization all season.

“Yeah, a hundred percent,” Flagg said. “I’ve felt the support the whole year, and I think they’ve put me in incredible positions to succeed. I said that at the start of the year — if I go out there and be myself, I can kind of drown out the pressure and whatever other people are saying, and everything else will work itself out if I just play to my capabilities.”

Cooper Flagg’s Return to Form

Flagg, who has been working his way back to full rhythm after an injury earlier this season, said Friday felt like a significant step.

“I thought before I got hurt, I had an incredible rhythm, and everything was just feeling — I don’t want to say easy — but just a great rhythm,” Flagg said. “When I came back, it’s tough just getting your foot back in and getting your rhythm back. But I feel like lately I’ve started to get that rhythm back a little bit. My teammates have done a great job helping me, being supportive.”

The numbers back it up. Flagg has averaged 27.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists over his last three games, shooting 57.4% from the field across that stretch. Since the All-Star break, he is averaging 20.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in 13 games — a run of production that has kept his Rookie of the Year case firmly intact heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

For Portland

Holiday led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and 4 assists on 8-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes. Avdija posted 20 points and 9 rebounds. Clingan grabbed 17 rebounds in 32 minutes but fouled out. Henderson contributed 9 points and 3 assists off the bench. Portland shot 39.2% from the field and 26.7% from 3-point range, committing 24 turnovers.

Inactives

Dallas was without Daniel Gafford (right shoulder sprain), Kyrie Irving (left knee surgery), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Caleb Martin (right plantar fascia strain), Khris Middleton (illness), and John Poulakidas (G League). Portland did not play Damian Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe, Caleb Love, Vit Krejčí, or Blake Wesley.

Up Next

The Mavericks return home to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.

More Dallas Mavericks Coverage From Tonight in Portland

• Dallas Mavericks Forward Khris Middleton Ruled Out vs. Portland Trail Blazers With Illness
• Brandon Williams Details Return From Concussion And What The Dallas Mavericks Need Against Portland Trail Blazers
• Cooper Flagg Not Listed On Dallas Mavericks Injury Report Against Portland Trail Blazers After Hand Injury Scare
• Daniel Gafford, Caleb Martin Ruled Out As Dallas Mavericks Update Injury Report Against Portland Trail Blazers
• Brandon Williams’ Return Gives Dallas Mavericks A Needed Boost In Loss To Denver Nuggets