Mavericks vs Trail Blazers Picks and Odds

• The Dallas Mavericks will battle the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at 10:00pm EST on NBA TV
• The Mavericks are riding high after taking out the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday’s ESPN game
• See the odds, spread, analysis, and best bet below

The stars will be shining Friday night when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks take on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

Dallas beat up on the Los Angeles Clippers 105-89 in their last game on Wednesday. Doncic went nuclear, dumping in 42 points while also chipping in nine assists. The Trail Blazers are working on a quick turnaround after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 101-93  last night.

The last four games in this series have been split right down the middle with each team taking two apiece. Portland took the last one 121-118 on Valentine’s Day. The most current odds show the Mavericks as three-point favorites in this matchup.

Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers Odds

Odds as of March 19th at FanDuel

Luka the Legend

Luka Doncic might be the most unfair player in the NBA. Standing 6’7′, 230 pounds, he shouldn’t be able to move or handle the ball the way he does but yet here we are. He is capable of taking any game over against any opponent and that’s exactly what he did the other night in the 105-89 win against the Clippers.

This Luka Doncic floater is the exclamation point in the Mavs' win over the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/JoYZVLZRlq

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 18, 2021

The game Wednesday night against the Clippers was the Mavericks’ second in a row against Kawhi Leonard and company.

In the first one, Doncic had a triple-double but the Mavericks still lost by double digits, 109-99. The second time around, Luka could not be stopped, going for 42 points on a 57% shooting night which included 6-11 from three-land. He was the only Maverick to go over the 20-point threshold.

Blazers Have a Legend Too

Dallas isn’t the only team in this one to be working with a bonafide superstar as Damian Lillard is currently second in the association in scoring. His 30.2 points per game is second only to the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal who is averaging a ridiculous 32.5 points per game.

He’s a threat to score from anywhere on the floor, and the New Orleans Pelicans found that out two games in a row against the Trail Blazers.

Damian Lillard is on another level right now and it’s so fun to watch. ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/qmc8UxkI38

— Hilltop Hoops (@HilltopNBA) March 17, 2021

On Tuesday, Lillard smoked the Pelicans for 50 points in a 125-124 win. Thursday the two teams squared off again and it was more of the same as Lillard went for 36 points on 54% shooting. At this point he is a one-man wrecking crew as no other Portland player scored more than 16 points in their latest game but they still won by eight points.

Best Betting Angle

This game will come down to which superstar plays better. Neither team plays anything that even resembles defense as they both rank in the bottom six in the NBA in defensive efficiency. The Mavericks are coming off one of their best defensive performances of the season against the Clippers but it’s hard to expect a team to have multiple outlier games like that in a row. Especially when considering that the Trail Blazers have a guy that can hit shots from the parking lot.

These two teams played back on Valentine’s Day and combined to score 239 points going over the posted total of 235.5.

The total is 234 this time around presumably because Portland played last night, but  bettors should be cautious in thinking Damian Lillard is affected by back-to-backs. In his last back to back situation on Sunday he put up 38 points against the Timberwolves. This one could be a shootout that under bettors want to avoid.

• The pick: Over 234 (-110)