PORTLAND, Ore. — If the Trail Blazers land the Mavericks as a first-round opponent in the playoffs, the season series thus far has certainly been a good omen.

Portland has gone 3-0 against Dallas, the latest a 101-89 victory last night at the Rose Garden.

The teams meet once more, on April 9 again in Portland. But the Blazers have already claimed their first season series over Dallas since the 1998-99 season.

The Mavericks' loss put them in a tangle for second in the Western Conference standings with the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz — all 6 1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Blazers are 10 1/2 back, jockeying for the seventh spot with San Antonio.

"This is a good test," said Blazers guard Andre Miller, who had 19 points and 10 assists.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Marcus Camby had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which has won six of its last seven games overall and five straight at home.

"We take tonight's game and show that we can play with those guys that are ahead of us," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said.

Caron Butler had 25 points for Dallas, which has lost four of its last five games after a 13-game winning streak.

Shawn Marion's short jumper pulled the Mavs within 82-80 early in the fourth, but Portland wouldn't let them get any closer.

DALLAS 27 27 21 14— 89

PORTLAND 32 28 28 20—108

DALLAS—Marion 7-12 0-0 15, Nowitzki 5-13 4-4 15, Dampier 1-2 0-0 2, Kidd 3-7 2-2 11, Butler 11-19 2-3 25, Haywood 4-9 0-0 8, Terry 4-14 0-0 11, Barea 1-4 0-0 2, Najera 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 0-1 0-0 0, Beaubois 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-81 8-9 89.

PORTLAND—Batum 3-8 0-0 8, Aldridge 9-18 2-2 20, Camby 8-13 1-6 17, Miller 6-11 7-8 19, Roy 5-7 6-8 16, Fernandez 2-6 2-2 7, Howard 2-7 0-0 4, Bayless 2-3 0-0 4, Cunningham 0-1 0-0 0, Webster 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 40-80 18-26 101.

3-Point Goals—Dallas 9-22 (Kidd 3-6, Terry 3-6, Marion 1-2, Nowitzki 1-2, Butler 1-4, Barea 0-1, Stevenson 0-1), Portland 3-11 (Batum 2-6, Fernandez 1-3, Miller 0-1, Webster 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Dallas 44 (Butler 9), Portland 50 (Camby 11). Assists—Dallas 20 (Kidd 7), Portland 25 (Miller 10). Total Fouls—Dallas 18, Portland 14. Technicals—Butler. A—20,611 (19,980).

HEAT 103, BULLS 74

CHICAGO — Jermaine O'Neal scored 24 points and Miami jumped to a 30-point halftime lead in rolling past Chicago.

Pushing for a better playoff seeding, Miami's third straight victory and ninth in 12 games lifted the Heat into the No. 6 slot in the Eastern Conference, a half game ahead of idle Charlotte. The Bulls have lost 11 of 13, including their last 10, and are in ninth place in the East.

MIAMI 31 32 23 17—103

CHICAGO 19 14 16 25— 74

MIAMI—Richardson 4-8 1-1 9, Beasley 7-15 1-1 15, O'Neal 9-14 6-7 24, Arroyo 4-10 2-2 10, Wade 5-7 2-7 12, Haslem 5-9 4-5 14, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Chalmers 4-6 1-2 10, Wright 1-4 1-1 3, Jones 2-4 0-0 6, Magloire 0-2 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 41-79 18-26 103.

CHICAGO—Johnson 3-9 0-0 6, Gibson 4-9 4-4 12, Miller 2-4 1-2 5, Rose 5-16 2-4 12, Hinrich 3-8 1-2 8, Richard 1-2 0-0 2, Murray 2-8 0-0 5, Pargo 1-8 0-0 3, Warrick 4-8 6-9 14, Noah 1-5 2-2 4, Law 1-4 0-0 3, Alexander 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-82 16-23 74.

3-Point Goals—Miami 3-11 (Jones 2-4, Chalmers 1-2, Wright 0-2, Richardson 0-3), Chicago 4-15 (Hinrich 1-3, Murray 1-3, Law 1-3, Pargo 1-4, Rose 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 55 (Richardson 8), Chicago 53 (Gibson 10). Assists—Miami 22 (Wade 10), Chicago 18 (Rose 5). Total Fouls—Miami 18, Chicago 19. Technicals—Chicago defensive three second. A—21,592 (20,917).

CLIPPERS 99, ROCKETS 93

HOUSTON — Craig Smith scored a season-high 25 points and had 10 rebounds, helping Los Angeles beat Houston to break an 11-game road losing streak.

The Clippers, who hadn't won on the road since Feb. 2, trailed by as many as 11 in the second half before using a big run to take the lead.

The short-handed Rockets were without Shane Battier and Kevin Martin, who sat out because of a sore left shoulder.

L.A. CLIPPERS 19 25 25 30—99

HOUSTON 28 15 27 23—93

L.A. CLIPPERS—Butler 2-10 0-0 5, Gooden 7-14 3-3 17, Kaman 2-9 0-0 4, Davis 5-12 4-4 16, Gordon 5-15 1-1 14, Novak 2-3 0-0 6, Jordan 2-3 3-6 7, Blake 1-5 2-2 5, Smith 10-13 5-10 25, Outlaw 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-85 18-26 99.

HOUSTON—Ariza 7-20 1-3 18, Scola 7-21 2-4 16, Hayes 3-4 0-0 6, Brooks 6-15 5-8 18, Budinger 6-12 0-0 14, Lowry 3-8 8-8 14, Taylor 1-2 0-2 2, Harris 2-6 1-2 5. Totals 35-88 17-27 93.

3-Point Goals—L.A. Clippers 9-28 (Gordon 3-9, Novak 2-3, Davis 2-5, Blake 1-3, Butler 1-7, Outlaw 0-1), Houston 6-23 (Ariza 3-10, Budinger 2-6, Brooks 1-5, Lowry 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—L.A. Clippers 64 (Gooden 14), Houston 56 (Scola 14). Assists—L.A. Clippers 22 (Davis 8), Houston 26 (Brooks 9). Total Fouls—L.A. Clippers 19, Houston 24. A—15,201 (18,043).

OVER AND BACK

Kings: Sacramento rookie point guard and leading scorer Tyreke Evans is not ready to return from a concussion and will miss tonight's game at Boston and Sunday's game at Cleveland. Evans sustained a concussion in last Friday night's home loss to Milwaukee.