The Dallas Mavericks entered their matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers looking to avenge an 85-81 home loss on December 22.

After Andre Miller’s performance on Saturday night left the Mavericks scratching their heads, the December loss was the furthest thing from their minds.

With Portland’s All-Star guard Brandon Roy out with a hamstring injury, Miller showed up and showed out. Hitting on 22-of-31 shots he hoisted up, the veteran point guard poured in a career-high 52 points to power the Blazers to a 114-112 overtime win on Dallas’ home floor, yet again. Though they had their chance to win, Miller was simply too much for the Mavericks down the stretch.

“Guys in this league, when they get in a groove, they can have special nights like that,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Miller’s night. “We tried a lot of different guys on him … He played a phenomenal game. On nights like tonight, guys like him get the rolls. A lot of those hung on the rim and went in. So, you have to give him his due. It was a phenomenal effort. We obviously didn’t do a good job on him.”

“I’ve had a few heated nights in my career, but I think this was one of those nights where I just didn’t stop shooting,” Miller said of his career outing, eclipsing his previous career-high of 37.

The Mavericks were a little shorthanded as well, playing without reserve big man Tim Thomas after the veteran left the team for personal reasons. With no Thomas coming off of the bench, Carlisle needed more from his starting unit. Behind a quick start from forwards Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs came out of the gates sprinting. But Miller ran the pick-and-roll to perfection with big man LaMarcus Aldridge in the opening quarter, powering Portland to a 26-21 edge after one.

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