Van Exel had missed a few games with the Nuggets while nursing a sore left elbow (his shooting arm). That might explain why in his first seven games with the Mavericks, Van Exel shot only 32.8 percent from the field.

"I had been out for a while and when I finally came back, I didn't have any extension on my shot," Van Exel said. "I was shooting it short and flat and kind of hard."

Van Exel's mechanics seemed fine Thursday against Portland as he nailed 6 of 10 shots and scored 12 points. But it wasn't nearly enough as the Trail Blazers (39-25) pounded the Mavericks (45-19) in convincing fashion, 132-106 at the Rose Garden.

When he arrived in Dallas, not only was Van Exel trying to overcome an injury, he also had to adjust to coming off the bench for the first time since early in his NBA career.