The Best of the Day: February 14th, 2021

Dame’s clutch 3PM overcame Luka’s wide open missed game-tying 3PA

Damian Lillard came up huge for his club once again as the Trail Blazers held off the Mavericks to earn an impressive 121-118 win on the road. Owning a 13-point lead with just under seven minutes to play, Portland appeared to have the game in hand. However, a late Dallas comeback saw the Mavericks tie the game at 116-116 with 49.5 seconds left on Dorian Finney-Smith‘s corner-3 from a Luka Doncic assist. But, there’s a reason why they call these moments ‘Dame Time’. 

Lillard took the ball up the court and with 32.8 seconds left, drilled a step-back 3-pointer in Finney-Smith’s face to give the Blazers a 119-116 lead. Dallas still had a chance, though. Trailing by three with with five seconds to go, Doncic had a golden opportunity to tie the game on a 3-point attempt he couldn’t have had a better look for. However, his shot rimmed out, and the Trail Blazers were able to hold on for the win.

Dame is built different ⌚ pic.twitter.com/ldRGX0Hrgk

— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 15, 2021

Lillard, who was forced to carry the offensive load once again with CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic still out, finished the contest with 34 points and 11 assists, while hitting 5-of-11 of his 3-pointers. The Blazers, 16-10, were able to extend their winning streak to four games despite missing multiple key pieces in their lineup.

Damian Lillard tonight:

✅ 34 PTS
✅ 11 AST
✅ 5 3PM

Lillard has 100 3PM in just 25 games played this season, becoming the first player in @trailblazers history to reach that mark in fewer than 30 games. pic.twitter.com/01Ej2foOtz

— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) February 15, 2021

It was a disappointing end for Doncic, who continued his brilliant stretch of basketball. Doncic finished the game with 44 points, just two days after dropping a career-high 46 points in a win over the Pelicans. He also finished with nine assists and seven rebounds in the loss, which snapped the Mavericks (13-15) four-game winning streak.

Luka Doncic's last 3 games:

28 PTS
46 PTS
44 PTS

His 118 points are the most over 3 games in @dallasmavs history. @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/rkeH9mCBn3

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) February 15, 2021

Luka Doncic tonight:

✅ 44 PTS
✅ 7 REB
✅ 9 AST

Doncic has recorded at least 25p/5r/5a in each of his last 10 games, tying Michael Jordan (March-April 1989) and Russell Westbrook (Nov. 2016) for the longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. pic.twitter.com/qTFltgTl3v

— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) February 15, 2021

Most points over a two-game span for the @dallasmavs:

90 - Luka Doncic (Feb. 2021)
87 - Mark Aguirre (Jan. 1985)
83 - Dirk Nowitzki (Dec. 2004)

Most consecutive 40-point games for the @dallasmavs:

2 - Aguirre (Dec. 1983)
2 - Aguirre (March 1986)
2 - Doncic (Feb. 2021) pic.twitter.com/IcEBcAcIHG

— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) February 15, 2021

Luka Doncic Last 2 games:

44 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds (vs Trail Blazers)

46 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds (vs Pelicans)

Per @EliasSports he is the 4th-youngest player in NBA history with back-to-back 40-pt games behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Allen Iverson. pic.twitter.com/ZWgMNL5mFR

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 15, 2021

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