Ferrell was solid off the bench for the Mavs in 94-86 loss to the Raptors

DALLAS – For the first time since he joined the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 28, Yogi Ferrell did not play in the first quarter of a game with his new team.

But when Ferrell finally got in Saturday’s 94-86 loss to the Toronto Raptors with 9:12 remaining before halftime, he more than made up for lost time.

Within a matter of minutes, the rookie from Indiana nailed a 3-pointer and two other baskets and scored seven of his 10 points in the second quarter while getting the American Airlines Center crowd all fired up.

"He played with a lot of force and he had great impact in the game, really, at both ends,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said of Ferrell. "He was ready to play and it’s a great sign for him and his career.

"He’s shown that he can be an effective starter, and the last couple of games he’s been really terrific off the bench. It just adds value to who he is as a player in this league."

Ferrell had been the Mavs’ starting playmaker until the past two games when Carlisle inserted center Nerlens Noel into the starting lineup. The domino effect from that move shifted Dirk Nowitzkii from center to power forward, Harrison Barnes from power forward to small forward, Wesley Matthews from small forward to shooting guard, Seth Curry from shooting guard to point guard, and relegated Ferrell to the bench.

"I don’t really look at it as if I’m starting or coming off the bench,’’ said Ferrell, who played 18 minutes. "My mindset is going to be the same.

"Just trying to bring energy on the defensive end and offensively just get in the paint and find guys."

Ferrell was 4-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point land. But as a whole, the Mavs shot just 37.8 percent from the field and dropped to 31-41 on the season.

"I wouldn’t say it was struggling offensively,’’ Ferrell said of the Mavs. "The shots that we wanted (were there), they just weren’t falling for us.

"I think some of that was us not getting stops defensively.’’

The Raptors (44-29) converted 48.1 percent of their shots and used their aggressive style to outscore the Mavs in the paint, 44-30.

Meanwhile, after falling behind 17-4 and then 30-22 at the end of the first quarter, the Mavs and Raptors each wound up scoring 64 points over the final three quarters.

"Early, we had some pretty decent shots,’’ Carlisle said. "A lot of them didn’t go in, and they were making everything. So it just got us behind the eight ball early.

"You look at the final three quarters and they’re basically even. The first quarter was our downfall."

That, plus the Mavs’ inability to get timely stops. That was never more apparent than late in the game when Serge Ibaka missed a jumper and Patrick Patterson grabbed the offensive rebound with the Mavs trailing by six points.

On that same possession, Patterson nailed a 3-pointer right in front of the Mavs’ bench to put Toronto ahead 92-83 with 59 seconds left. Patterson then turned and said something in the direction of the Mavs’ bench.

Carlisle reacted and said something to Patterson, and technical fouls were issued to both Carlisle and Patterson.

"I’m not going to let a guy unnecessarily taunt our bench,’’ Carlisle said. "I don’t think it’s right -- I take exception to it."

The Mavs never led in this game and are now 1-2 on this four-game home stand which ends Monday against Oklahoma City before Dallas starts a five-game road trip Wednesday in New Orleans. But the Mavs will lament the loss to the Raptors, because it put a serious dent in their playoff hopes.

"On the other end, it just made it harder for us to try and score,’’ Ferrell said of the mavs’ defensive woes. "When we’re not getting stops defensively, not scoring – that’s when we got down early and couldn’t come back.’’

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 11:58 PM with the headline "Ferrell was solid off the bench for the Mavs in 94-86 loss to the Raptors."