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Tune-In Tidbits: ESPN Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021

Get ready for a Valentine's Day ESPN doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup.

Damian Lillard (29.0 ppg) and Luka Doncic (28.5 ppg) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the league in scoring.

Blazers (15-10) at Mavericks (13-14)
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Blazers enter Sunday on a three-game win streak. During the streak, Carmelo Anthony is averaging 23.3 points on 52.3% (23-44) shooting from the field and 57.1% (12-21) on 3-pointers.

• The Mavericks enter Sunday riding a four-game win streak, averaging 130.5 points over those four games, and coming off a season-high 143 points on Friday. During the streak, Luka Doncic is averaging 35.5 points, 9.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingis is adding 24 points and 8.5 rebounds.

• Luka Doncic (14.6) and Damian Lillard (14.2) rank first and second, respectively, in scoring as the ball handler in pick-and-roll play, according to Synergy. Lillard averages 1.14 points per possession, which ranks third among the 52 players with at least 100 such plays so far this season. Doncic ranks 15th at 1.01 points per possession.

• The Blazers are 9-3 in games that feature clutch time (score inside five points in final five minutes) with Damian Lillard taking over with the game on the line. Lillard rank fourth in total clutch points (58) and is shooting 55.2% (16-29) from the field, 41.7% (5-12) from three and has made all 21 of his free throw attempts. Of the 35 players that have attempted at least 20 clutch shots, Lillard’s FG% ranks second only to Cleveland’ Collin Sexton.

• Both the Blazers (11.2%) and Mavericks (12.1%) excel at taking care of the ball as they rank second and third, respectively, in turnover percentage this season. The Blazers lead the league with 10 games with fewer than 10 turnovers, while the Mavs are tied for second with eight such games.

LeBron James recorded a triple-double (27-10-10) in the Lakers’ win over the Nuggets on Feb. 4.

Lakers (21-6) at Nuggets (14-11)
10 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Lakers enter Sunday riding a seven-game win streak, with all but two of the games decided by eight points or less, three over which went into overtime. During the streak, LeBron James is averaging 26.1 points on 50.4% shooting, while adding 9.1 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. Anthony Davis has appeared in five of the seven games and averaged 26 points on 7.8 rebounds.

• Montrezl Harrell ranks fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage at 64.3% on the season. During the Lakers’ seven-game win streak, Harrell is shooting 72.6% and averaging 15.7 points per game.

• This marks the second meeting of the season between the Lakers and Nuggets, with L.A. winning the first game on Feb. 4 behind LeBron James’s triple-double (27 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST). LeBron has three triple-doubles on the season and 97 for his career; he ranks fifth all-time and trails current Lakers’ assistant coach Jason Kidd by 10 triple-doubles for fourth place.

• Nikola Jokic was held to 13 points in Denver’s loss to Los Angeles on Feb. 4; it was his season low at the time and remains his second-lowest scoring game of the season. Marc Gasol was the primary defender on Jokic for a team-high 5:22 (39.2% of Jokic’s offensive matchup time) and held Jokic to four points on 2-4 shooting. Montrezl Harrell defended Jokic for 2:44 (20% of matchup time) and held Jokic to two points on 1-5 shooting.

• Anthony Davis matched his season-low in scoring (13 points) and field goal attempts (eight) against the Nuggets on Feb. 4. Paul Millsap was the primary defender on Davis for 6:19 (59.2% of Davis’ offensive matchup time) and held Davis to two points on 1-4 shooting. In just 1:31 against Jokic, Davis scored six points on 3-3 shooting.

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