3 Studs, 2 duds in Mavericks' big win over Trail Blazers to begin homestand

The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Portland Trail Blazers in all facets of the game last night. The Mavericks ended up defeating the young Blazers squad by a score of 126-97.

Dallas started hot, racing out to a quick 9-0 lead. Four of the five Dallas starters had already recorded field goals in just the first two minutes.

Despite the quick start, the Mavericks only led the Blazers by 10 points after the first quarter. However, the lead ballooned by halftime. At the half, Portland trailed Dallas by 31 points. The Mavericks led 78-47, their largest halftime lead all season long.

3 Studs, 2 duds in Mavericks' big win over Trail Blazers to begin homestand

In the second half, Dallas only totaled 48 points. But the first-half deficit remained similar, as the Trail Blazers only managed 50 second-half points.

The Dallas star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving lit up the Trail Blazers. Doncic and Irving combined for 70 points on 58 percent shooting from the field and 53 percent from deep. The dynamic pairing will surely make the stud list. Find out the other stud and the two duds below.

5. Stud - Tim Hardaway Jr.

Dallas Sixth Man of the Year candidate Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 14 points and three rebounds last night. He knocked down five of his 10 field goal attempts and 2-of-5 3-pointers.

And with his second 3-pointer, Hardaway Jr. moved into fourth place in Mavericks history in 3-pointers made. The Dallas wing surpassed longtime Maverick Michael Finley after he knocked down his 871st three.

Now fourth on the leaderboard, Hardaway Jr. trails Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and current teammate, Luka Doncic. This season, Hardaway Jr. is on pace to set a career-high in 3-pointers made. He connecting on a career-high 3.2 3-pointers per contest.

Although the Dallas guard didn't have an extraordinary game, he played his role well as the third shotmaker. The Michigan product recorded a plus/minus of plus-eight, the second-highest total on the Dallas bench, trailing only Seth Curry.