The Dallas Mavericks take a three-game winning streak into the Pacific Northwest on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET for an ESPN matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, who have won four of five to move into the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. The Mavericks, now tied for 11th in the conference, have already defeated the Trail Blazers in Portland this season. They escaped with a 96-95 victory on Dec. 21 when Damian Lillard missed a potential game-winning shot in the final moments.
Dallas has won multiple games at Portland in four different seasons, most recently during the 2008–09 campaign. With a win on Friday, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle would become the first head coach in franchise history to win 400 games. The team has not finished a season with a losing record since hiring Carlisle in 2008.
Unlikely spark for Dallas
Undrafted point guard Yogi Ferrell has offered recent production for the Mavericks since he joined the team last week on a 10-day contract. After playing 10 games for the Brooklyn Nets earlier this season, Ferrell latched on with the Long Island Nets of the NBA D-League. Dallas then brought in Ferrell after injuries to veteran guards Deron Williams and J.J. Barea depleted the team's backcourt.
The Mavericks are 3–0 since signing Ferrell, defeating the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers within four days. Ferrell has started all three games, averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 assists in the victories. He is one of a league-high six undrafted players to start a game for Dallas this season. The others are Wesley Matthews, Dorian Finney-Smith, Seth Curry, Salah Mejri and Barea.
Old reliable giving way to new reliable?
Forward Dirk Nowitzki's career scoring average of 20.6 PPG against the Trail Blazers is his third-lowest output versus one team (19.1 PPG against the Cavaliers, 19.9 PPG against the Spurs). Nowitzki scored only five points in the Mavericks’ first game at Portland this season. That was his lowest point total in any game against the Trail Blazers.
Forward Harrison Barnes leads Dallas with a scoring average of 20.4 PPG after averaging 11.7 PPG for the Golden State Warriors last season. His scoring increase (8.7 PPG) is the largest among players who started at least 40 games in each of the last two seasons. The next-largest increase in the group belongs to the Boston Celtics' Isaiah Thomas (7.5 PPG).
It's Lillard time
Lillard has scored at least 25 points in each of his last five games against the Mavericks. It’s the point guard's longest streak of 25-point games against one opponent in his NBA career, and it’s the longest active streak for any player against Dallas. The last player to score at least 25 points in six or more consecutive games versus the Mavericks was Kobe Bryant, who did so in 11 straight games from December 2006 to March 2009.
Lillard is averaging 26.2 PPG this season after averaging 25.1 PPG in 2015-16. The only other Trail Blazer to average at least 25 PPG in two consecutive seasons is Clyde Drexler (27.0 PPG in 1987–88, 27.2 PPG in 1988–89).
Points galore, but sore in tight scores
Portland has averaged 107.8 PPG this season, on pace for the team's highest output since 1992–93 (108.5 PPG). But the Trail Blazers have also allowed 110.0 PPG to opponents this season, highest since 1988–89 (113.1).
Portland is 0–6 in games decided by one point during the last two seasons, including its one-point loss to the Mavericks in December. It’s the league's longest current losing streak of that kind and the longest for the Trail Blazers since a six-loss streak in 1996–97.