DALLAS AT DENVER, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ALT; KOA 950 AM
Spotlight on Yogi Ferrell: The lowly Mavericks (13th in the 15-team Western Conference) still have veteran Dirk Nowitzki. But the rest of their lineup is less than a who’s who. Take, for instance, Ferrell. The second-year guard from Indiana is averaging 10.2 points per game off the bench, their sixth-highest scorer, and 28.6 minutes, third most on the team. Ferrell went undrafted after four years with the Hoosiers, but he has found a place with the Mavericks after a 10-game stint with Brooklyn last year. Ferrell was a star at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis, but he finished as a runner-up in Indiana Mr. Basketball voting, behind Nuggets guard .
NOTEBOOK
Mavericks: After an overtime loss to the on Saturday, Dallas fell to 15-29 and 7 1/2 games behind Denver for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. But in their first meeting this season, the Mavericks trounced the Nuggets 122-105 in Dallas on Dec. 4. … Nowitzki, now 39 and in his 20th NBA season, has started in all 44 of his team’s games. The 13-time all-star is averaging 12.3 points, his lowest total since his rookie season ended in 1999. … The Mavs remain without Seth Curry (leg) and Nerlens Noel (thumb surgery).
Nuggets: The “Twin Towers” of centers and have started together for 12 games, with mixed results. They were 5-2 to start but are 1-4 since. Denver coach Michael Malone, though, defended the pairing. “I wouldn’t put our recent struggles on Nikola and Mason starting together,” he said. Malone, though, might break up the pairing as needed, including against Dallas. The Mavericks play with a small lineup and Malone said he might counter with the same. … Denver’s struggles — just one win in its past five games — are due to a cratering shooting percentage, Malone said. “It’s not just one guy. It’s a lot of guys,” he said. The Nuggets shot just 35 percent in a blowout loss at San Antonio on Saturday.
This article has been amended in the online archive to denote Yogi Ferrell was the Mavericks’ sixth-highest scorer before facing the Nuggets.
