Daniel Gafford’s contributions on both ends of the floor proved critical down the stretch, as the Dallas Mavericks snapped a three-game losing skid and avoided a winless homestand with their 138-133 overtime defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.Gafford, limited thus far in 2025-26 by an ankle injury, delivered a season-high 20 points, including four in the final seconds of the extra period for Dallas.His free throws with 1:39 remaining gave the Mavericks the lead for good and ignited a 6-0 mini-run that effectively put the game away. During one sequence, Gafford rejected Shaedon Sharpe at the rim, then finished at the other end on a physical basket in the paint to give Dallas a five-point advantage.Gafford’s block and bucket followed P.J. Washington’s thunderous dunk on a leakout, set up from Cooper Flagg’s outlet assist off a missed Sharpe 3-pointer.Sharpe’s inability to score in the final minute and a half came at an inopportune time on an otherwise outstanding night for the Portland guard. He scored a season-high 36 points, just one shy of matching his career best, and dished six assists.Sharpe was left shouldering the load after Deni Avdija, the Blazers’ season-long leading scorer, fouled out. Avdija finished with 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
