Marvin Bagley III scored a season-high 26 points off the bench and Cooper Flagg added 24 as the Dallas Mavericks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 100-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
PORTLAND — The Dallas Mavericks received a boost from Marvin Bagley III off the bench Friday and closed out a victory after a recent run of close losses, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 100-93 at Moda Center. The win pushed the Mavs to 24-50 on the season and ended a five-game losing streak.
Bagley pitched in a season-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting off the bench, including back-to-back finishes at the rim in the final two minutes to push Dallas over the top. Cooper Flagg scored 24 points, Naji Marshall contributed 19 points and five steals, and Brandon Williams made the free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
It didn't take long for Bagley to get going early, scoring 11 points in the first quarter alone — a season high for a single quarter — then kept building on it throughout, finishing with nine rebounds and three assists. His 26 points were his most in a game since the 2022-23 season. When Portland tied it at 92 on a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer with 2:25 remaining, Bagley answered with a layup and a dunk on back-to-back possessions off Williams feeds to push the lead back to four and effectively end it.
"I just tried to get a good hit on my screen and roll hard," Bagley said. "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."
Flagg carried Dallas in the first half, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line before halftime — his 11th career 20-point half, more than the rest of this year's rookie class combined per Elias Sports.
Dallas led 56-51 at the break. The third quarter brought Portland all the way back, with Toumani Camara tipping in a miss to give the Trail Blazers a 66-64 lead before Bagley went on his own run to push Dallas back ahead.
Flagg said the Mavericks' composure was the difference when Portland threatened.
"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."
Jason Kidd singled out Bagley's performance as a driving force.
"Bags was huge off the bench," Kidd said. "11-for-14, 26 points. He was shooting the three well. He just let the game come to him, and I thought down the stretch between him and B. Will, running the pick-and-roll was really good."
It was the Mavericks' 43rd clutch game of the season, the most in the NBA by two. They moved to 16-27 in those situations with the win.
Klay Thompson extended his own franchise record in the first quarter, surpassing Tim Hardaway Jr. for the most 3-pointers off the bench by a Maverick in a single season with 174 makes. He now has 188 on the year.
Jrue Holiday led Portland with 23 points and four assists. Deni Avdija added 20 points and nine rebounds. Donovan Clingan was a force on the glass with 17 rebounds but fouled out. Dallas was without Daniel Gafford (right shoulder sprain) and Khris Middleton (illness).
"Any win in this league is good to have, especially when you play together like we did tonight," Bagley said. "It was a collective effort tonight, and we were able to get the job done."
The Mavericks are back in action on Monday when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.