Blazers, Rider Bomb Mavericks
After a three-point effort Saturday night in an overtime win over the hapless Los Angeles Clippers, Isaiah Rider wasn't going to let another opportunity slip away against a mediocre opponent.
Rider responded with a season-high 30 points, 23 in the first half, to lead the streaking Portland Trail Blazers to a 106-91 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
"You don't want to have two games like that in a row," said Rider, who went 12-for-22 from the field and shot 3 of 5 on 3-pointers. "I was determined not to let that happen. I went into the Clipper game lackadaisical. I just wasn't ready to play."
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The Blazers trailed 38-37 with 5:26 left before halftime when Rider scored 10 points to fuel a 19-8 run to close out the half. Rider went 9-for-15 from the field, including three 3-pointers, in the opening half.
"He established himself early and that's what we needed," said Portland point guard Damon Stoudamire. "He struggled against the Clippers but he was hitting tonight with his jumper and his post-up game."
Stoudamire added 18 points, Arvydas Sabonis had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Brian Grant 10 points for Portland, which has won 10 of its last 11.
"For us, every day is like Groundhog Day," said Trail Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy, in refernece to the Bill Murray movie. "What happens today will happen tomorrow. We're playing hard fo 48 minutes, our defense has been good, and we've been unselfish with the ball. We've done a good job all year long."
The Trail Blazers have beaten the Mavericks in six straight meetings and 13 of the last 14 times.
Michael Finley's 21 points paced the Mavericks. Erick Strickland had 13 points and Gary Trent added 12 for Dallas.
A.C. Green, who extended his league record by playing in his 1,001st consecutive game, added 10 points and eight rebounds for Dallas.
Dallas coach Don Nelson said he had no problems with the Mavericks' effort, pointing to Portland's 9-for-16 shooting from 3-point range as a key factor.
"We played a very good team and gave it our all," Nelson said. "The energy was there. But the 3-point shot really hurt us."
Portland expanded its lead to as many as 18 (75-57) in the third quarter and carried a 75-62 advantage into the final quarter.
The Mavericks got as close as 78-71 with 8:31 left on Hubert Davis' 20-footer, but former Maverick Jim Jackson hit an 18-footer on Portland's next possession and the Blazers went on to lead by as many as 19.
Notes
Trail Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return. ...Dallas had won two straight and six of its previous eight at home entering Monday night's game. ...Portland has allowed 100 or more points only once this season -- 105 in a double-overtime loss to Golden State.
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