The Portland Trail Blazers won over the Dallas Mavericks, 94-75 on Thursday night but it was costly as they lost starting shooting guard Wesley Matthews to a season-ending injury. The victory was the Trail Blazers fifth in a row but they’ll be searching for answers for the rest of the regular season as they lost their third-leading scorer and perhaps the team’s best two-way player.

Without Matthews, the Trail Blazers turned a close first half into a laugher as Portland outscored Dallas, 31-21 in the third quarter and continued the romp in the payoff period. Four players scored in double-figures for the Trail Blazers led by LaMarcus Aldridge who had 17 points and added 12 rebounds. Nicolas Batum also had a double-double of 15 points and 12 boards plus 6 assists. Damian Lillard had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Mavericks had a good start to the game and even led 23-17 after the opening quarter. The wheels started to come off after that however as most starters struggled from the field. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting— the same percentage as Rajon Rondo who settled for 10 markers but added 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Monta Ellis shot worse; missing 15-of-20 shots for just 12 points. Big man Tyson Chandler hauled in 14 rebounds but overall the team was out-rebounded by the Trail Blazers, 56-41.

While they got the win, losing Matthews, who tore his Achilles tendon, will be tough for Portland moving forward. Averaging 15.9 points per game and one of the leading three-pointers in the entire league, the shooting guard will be missed the rest of the regular season and especially in the postseason when they would have needed the veteran’s poise and swagger. Luckily for Portland, they were one of the active teams before the trade deadline, when they acquired Arron Afflalo from the Denver Nuggets. Afflalo is expected to replace Matthews in the starting line-up and his production is expected to rise with more minutes and usage.

Portland has now won five straight games after losing their first two post-All Star Break. They’ll face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday before another Western marquee match-up with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Dallas has lost three of their last four games and will be in another tough stretch in their next games; they’ll face the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder in four of their next five games.

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