Ferrell sparks Mavercks into road tilt against Pistons
Yogi Ferrell continues to produce for the Dallas Mavericks, even though he's been relegated to a reserve role.
The rookie point guard out of Indiana posted a team-high 20 points and five assists in a 111-98 loss to Boston on Monday night. Ferrell played 33 minutes after starter Deron Williams was ejected in the second quarter for arguing a foul call.
Ferrell signed a 10-day contract with Dallas while Williams was sidelined with a toe injury and was so effective, the club inked him to a two-year deal. He's gotten to the point where he's expected to have an impact.
He's sure to have a big role once again when Dallas plays its final game before the All-Star break, a road matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
"He's a professional basketball player," Carlisle told the Dallas Morning News. "He's supposed to play hard and play well. He's doing his job. His job is to play hard, make open shots, make simple plays and guard the best little guy on nights like (Monday). He did some very good things, and his job is to continue to do that.
"If we make this out like he's doing something extra special, everybody's going to be waiting for him to stop doing that," Carlisle added. "This is his job. He's supposed to do this."
Despite Ferrell's efforts, the Mavericks (22-33) fell apart down the stretch against the Celtics. Dallas trailed by just one point entering the fourth quarter.
"We got it within one, tantalizingly close, and we had some opportunities that fell by the wayside," Carlisle told the Morning News. "They got a little lucky a couple times. ... But that's a great offensive team. They've got a legitimate chance to get to the Finals with that team out of the East."
Carlisle could have another big body to call upon against the Pistons. Center Andrew Bogut, who has missed the last eight games because of strained hamstring, is hopeful that he can return to action.
The wildly inconsistent Pistons will try to bounce back from a poor performance at Milwaukee on Monday night. They trailed by double digits for a majority of the game in the 102-89 loss.
"Our offense was pathetic," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Their defense was good, but we knew how they would play and what was open. We didn't have any focus on getting it there. (We had) 17 turnovers. It was just a miserable night all around."
The previous night, the Pistons (26-30) rallied from a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to stun Toronto, 102-101.
Building momentum has been elusive task for Detroit, which doesn't have a winning streak longer than three games.
The Pistons mustered just 34 points before halftime against the Bucks and never recovered.
"We had way too many (turnovers)," forward Tobias Harris said. "We knew coming into the game that their defensive pressure was going to be there. We never really got to our offensive game plan, which was, with their team that pulls in a lot, (we wanted to) move the ball and get some shots from 3. Get some open looks. We never really got to that."
Detroit finished strong in its first meeting with Dallas this season. The Pistons outscored the Mavericks 35-21 in the fourth quarter to claim to a 95-85 road win.
The Pistons will be shooting for their first two-game sweep of the season series since the 1997-98 season. They won the only meeting between the clubs the following season, which was shortened by a lockout.