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The Dallas Mavericks are still looking up at the Portland Trail Blazers in the standings. But the Mavs are getting closer.
Dallas and Portland are hooking up for the second time in five nights Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
The Mavs (20-31) are tied for 10th in the Western Conference after Monday night’s 110-87 loss at Denver. Dallas is just 1.5 games behind ninth-place Portland (22-30) and three games behind the No. 8 Nuggets in the race for the final playoff spot.
Dallas had a four-game winning streak snapped, but has won nine of its last 13 to climb out of the West cellar and make an unlikely postseason push.
The Mavs beat the Blazers 108-104 on Feb. 3 in Portland. Dallas raced out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter and held as the Blazers tried to mount a furious comeback.
Portland would tie the game in the fourth, but the Mavericks never trailed. They had rookie phenomenon Yogi Ferrell to thank for that.
The undrafted point guard signed to a 10-day contract exploded for 32 points and tied a rookie record with nine 3-pointers. Ferrell’s last triple gave Dallas a 105-101 lead with 19 seconds left.
“It was a groove where every shot I took felt like it was going in,” Ferrell said. “You know, I was just being aggressive just like (coach Rick Carlisle) wants. I work, and it just showed.”
Ferrell started his fifth consecutive game Monday with Deron Williams’ continued absence with a toe sprain. The Indiana product had 15 points and five assists against the Nuggets, and is averaging 17.2 points and 5.0 assists since joining Dallas.
The Mavs are 4-1 with Ferrell directing the offense, including wins over San Antonio and Cleveland. Dallas has committed to signing the 23-year-old playmaker to a two-year contract on Tuesday.
“Yogi has been amazing,” owner Mark Cuban said. “We think he can help the Mavs for years to come.”
The Blazers are looking for their own spark. Their current two-game losing streak, which began against the Mavs and continued with Sunday’s 105-99 setback at Oklahoma City, followed an all-too-familiar script.
Portland had its chances in the fourth, but couldn’t close against Russell Westbrook and Co. The Blazers were just 9-14 this season in games that are within three points in the final three minutes.
“(The Thunder) out-aggressived us down the stretch,” Damion Lillard told The Oregonian. “It felt like they wanted it a little bit more than we did. In that situation, we gotta come harder. We got to want it more.”
That’s been an issue for a team that didn’t expect to be looking up at .500.
“It’s frustrating, but I do think that we competed,” Lillard told the paper. “We didn’t come out here and not have a chance to win. We were in position to win the game. Once again, like many games we’ve had this season, we had an opportunity. We didn’t always take advantage of it.”
Dallas has won two of the three meetings with the Blazers this season. Lillard has scored 25 or more points in five of his last six games against the Mavericks, averaging 27.0 points over that span.
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