The Portland Trail Blazers play the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday evening at Orlando.

The Blazers came up with huge win in their last contest to keep their playoff push alive. Damian Lillard fueled the win over the 76ers with 51 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, in 40 minutes of action. The clutch performance brought Portland within 0.5 games of eighth in the West, as the Grizzlies have dropped five of their six games in the bubble, and the Trail Blazers have been trending upwards with a 4-2 record in the bubble. If Portland wins and Memphis loses on Tuesday, then the Trail Blazers will overtake the eighth seed. Lillard has been playing great lately, averaging 33.8 points and 9.6 assists over the last five games. Jusuf Nurkic has given a major boost to the Blazers in the restart, averaging 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds through the last five games. Hassan Whiteside (hip) has missed the last two games but is considered probable for Tuesday's contest.

This marks the second game of a back-to-back for the Mavs, as they are coming off an impressive win over the Jazz on Monday. Despite Luka Doncic (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (knee) being sidelined for the contest, the Mavs came out on top thanks to a few big performances, led by Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished with 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Boban Marjanovic added 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, while Seth Curry totaled 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Three other players scored in double digits in the win, showcasing the depth of the Mavericks. Doncic and Porzingis remain questionable for action on Tuesday. Dorian Finney-Smith (hip) also missed Monday's contest and is questionable for action on Tuesday. The Mavericks sit seventh in the West but only 1.0 game out of sixth, and 1.5 games out of fifth.