National Basketball Association
Dallas 108, Portland 104
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, February 3, 2017
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #52 Scott Twardoski, #18 Matt Boland, #43 Dan Crawford
Attendance: 19393

PORTLAND, Ore. — Yogi Ferrell played loose as a summer breeze and it paid huge dividends for the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at Moda Center.

The rookie guard had a season-high 32 points, including nine 3-point shots, to lift the Mavericks past the Portland Trail Blazers 108-104.

Ferrell made nine of his first 10 3-point attempts and finished 9 of 11 from beyond the arc in his fourth game in a Dallas uniform. Ferrell, who began the season with the Brooklyn Nets and had a couple of stints in the D-League, was signed to a 10-day contract a week ago.

“I was just out there having a lot of fun with my guys,” said Ferrell, an undrafted free agent who played four years of college ball at Indiana. "I get my confidence from them. They say, 'Be aggressive, be aggressive,' and I just did that."

Wesley Matthews added a season-high 27 points for the Mavericks (20-30), who won their fourth game and ninth in the last 12 outings.

CJ McCollum collected 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Evan Turner scored a season-high 24 points for the Trail Blazers (22-29), who lost for the second time in seven games.

Portland never led in the game. The Blazers rallied from a 24-point second-quarter deficit to tie the score down the stretch, but the Mavericks had just enough at the end to pull it out.

Dallas was 17 of 31 (.548) from 3-point range; Portland was 9 of 30 (.300).

"The 3-point line was the difference," Portland coach Terry Stotts said.

That and Ferrell, who was 12 of 41 (.293) from 3-point range this season before Friday night.

"Our game plan was we were going to go under pick-and-rolls and try to keep him out of the paint," said Portland's Damian Lillard, who had 13 points on 4-of-20 shooting from the field. "He hit a few early, got his confidence up, and he started catching and raising up.

"He had a great game. With anybody playing in this league, they get a couple of shots to fall, you never know what can happen. His came right on time.”

The Mavericks are 4-0 since Ferrell joined the team.

"I love the way he is playing,” coach Rick Carlisle said. "He has a great team vibe to him. He has great energy. He is an opportunistic guy, and it's pretty clear he's out to prove a point."

Dallas started the game 7 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, and led 17-4 four minutes into the game. Soon it was 30-10 and -- with Matthews scoring 12 points -- the Mavericks led 35-22 after one quarter.

They extended the margin to 52-28 on Ferrell's fifth 3-pointer of the game midway through the second quarter. The Blazers cut the difference to 60-47 at the half, then outscored the Mavericks 16-7 to begin the third quarter to narrow the gap to 67-63.

The Mavericks still led 92-85 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Blazers closed quickly. Al-Farouq Aminu's 3-point shot tied the score at 92 with 4:12 to play.

It went back and forth from there until, with 19.3 seconds to go, Ferrell buried a 3-pointer from the top for a 105-101 lead. McCollum knocked down a 3 to cut the lead to 105-104 with 14.6 seconds on the clock.

Matthews hit two free throws for a 107-104 advantage with 14 seconds left.

McCollum and Lillard each missed 3-point attempts to tie on Portland's next possession.

Dorian Finney-Smith closed the scoring with a free throw with 2.2 seconds left.

"We knew (the Blazers) were going to make a big run at some point," Carlisle said. "The building is loud. It's a place rife with adversity. We said we have to embrace the challenge and find a way to conquer it. Somehow, we did."

NOTES: G Yogi Ferrell equaled the Dallas rookie record for 3-pointers made in a game by Rodrigue Beaubois. Ferrell was one behind the Mavericks' franchise record of 10. ... Ferrell became the third undrafted rookie to score 30 points in the first 15 games of his career, joining Connie Hawkins (twice) and Anthony Morrow. ... Dallas was missing C Andrew Bogut (hamstring) G JJ Barea (calf) and G Deron Williams (toe and G Devin Harris (illness). ... Dallas G Seth Curry, who had 19 points, has scored in double figures in each of the last 10 games, averaging 16.4 points. "He's been very consistent, very solid playing both guard positions," coach Rick Carlisle said. "With the other guys out, he's going to be handling the ball even more." ... Portland forward Ed Davis (wrist) returned after missing the previous five games, contributing five points and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Portland
Yogi Ferrell 32 Scoring C.J. McCollum 28
Yogi Ferrell 5 Assists Damian Lillard 6
Harrison Barnes 7 Rebounds Damian Lillard 9
Wesley Matthews 8 Free Throws Made Damian Lillard 4
Harrison Barnes 1 Steals Allen Crabbe 1
Salah Mejri 3 Blocks Maurice Harkless 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dallas 108 47.4 17-31 19-23 15 36 4 3 7
Portland 104 45.5 9-30 15-20 16 44 4 3 9
Upcoming Games
  • Portland will play their next game on the road against Oklahoma City. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .364 after a win and .483 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .387 after a loss.