Portland @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2018 ) Portland 107, Dallas 93

The Portland Trail Blazers are headed to the playoffs for the fifth straight season and their focus has turned to securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Trail Blazers hold a three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs with five to play as they open a four-game road trip with Tuesday's contest against the Dallas Mavericks.

Portland has been on a scintillating eight-week stretch in which it has compiled a 19-4 record and the club took time to enjoy the clinching after Sunday's 113-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. "Clinching the playoffs, being in the playoffs five straight years is a good accomplishment; it's one of our goals at the beginning of the season," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters afterward. "We still have some more goals to accomplish, but it's something everybody should be proud of." Dallas is suffering through a porous campaign and is limping toward the finish with three straight losses and eight in the past nine games. The Mavericks fell 98-87 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday and failed to reach 100 points for the fourth time in the last five contests.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), FS Southwest (Dallas)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (48-29): Portland's extended roll has the franchise in position to get a breather and rest some players instead of battling to get into the postseason up until the season's final days. "I think for our stress level, we don't have to go down to the wire to get a playoff spot," All-Star guard Damian Lillard told reporters. "Now we're just looking to stay sharp, keep doing the things that have allowed us to have the success that we've had, and try to finish it off and win the division, get home court." Lillard averaged 30 points and six assists in two games against Dallas this season, and his 26.7 scoring average helped fuel the Trail Blazers to score 100 or more points in 20 straight games, the club's longest single-season mark since a 42-game run during the 1989-90 campaign.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (23-54): Veteran Dirk Nowitzki is playing through knee and ankle ailments but the player who turns 40 in June has started a team-leading 76 games, and that impresses Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. "He's another guy that's just so extremely meticulous with his approach," Carlisle told reporters. "He changed his diet about 12 years ago or 13 years ago and went to very specific kinds of foods. Drinking a lot of water. There's a level of consistency there that is amazing." Nowitzki no longer is a star averaging more than 20 points per game but remains a solid contributor by averaging 12 points and 5.7 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Trail Blazers won this season's first two meetings and are looking to sweep the Mavericks for the first time since going 3-0 against them in the 1998-99 season.

2. Dallas F Harrison Barnes scored 30 points versus Cleveland to reach at least 30 for the fourth time this season.

3. Portland PF Al-Farouq Aminu had 17 points and 10 rebounds against Memphis for his ninth double-double of the season, one off his career high set in 2012-13.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 104, Mavericks 101