Trevor Ariza Had His Best Game of the Season in Blazers Debut

Although the Portland lost 133-125 to Dallas on Thursday night, the game was significant for a few Blazers players. First and foremost, the team got to see their newly-acquired talent in action. Trevor Ariza had 21 points in his Blazers debut, doing so on 7-of-11 shooting in 36 minutes. Both were season-highs for Ariza, who came to Portland with Caleb Swanigan via a trade with Sacramento earlier this week.

Portland sent Kent Bazemore to the Kings, shedding $12.5 million in salary in the process. Ariza has now played with nine different franchises since his NBA debut in 2004.

Ariza hit four three-pointers on six attempts and added seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Swanigan, who was drafted by Portland in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, also saw a ton of playing time for the short-handed Blazers on Thursday night. Swanigan played a career-high 23 minutes against Dallas, posting two points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Last season, Swanigan was traded from Portland to Sacramento in exchange for Skal Labissière. In parts of two seasons, the former Purdue star played in just 10 games for the Kings, averaging 5.6 minutes per game.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers in scoring against Dallas, pouring in 47 points on an efficient 16-of-28 shooting performance. Lillard now has 108 points in his last two games (54 ppg) and 176 points in his last four (44 ppg).

Portland, now 19-27, played without star CJ McCollum for the third straight game. They are currently 2.5 games back of the final Western Conference postseason spot.