The Portland Trail Blazers dominated the second half of their NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks to secure an emphatic 108-87 victory at the Moda Center.
The visitors made the better start of the two sides, with Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis scoring a run of points early on, but they could not pull away from Portland before the break.
The home side were defensively tighter at the start of the second half, restricting their opponents' shooting while LaMarcus Aldridge dominated the third quarter, finishing with 20 points before being rested in the fourth.
Damian Lillard ensured that the Trail Blazers continued to run the score up late on though, scoring 10 points in six minutes at the start of the final period before also being withdrawn early.
Chandler Parsons tried to keep the Mavericks in contention, making back-to-back shots to cut Portland's lead to 15, but the home side's defending ensured that the visitors could not build on the momentum.
The result leaves both sides with 3-2 records from the first five games of the season.
Sian Cowper
