SAN ANTONIO _ In baseball, the new infielder just called up from triple-A always gets a hot grounder hit to him right away.
In the NBA, the new kid who has been with his team for barely 36 hours after signing a 10-day contract has to go to the free-throw line with 7.3 seconds left with a chance to ice the game.
Yogi Ferrell knocked them down and the Mavericks got out of San Antonio with a 105-101 victory largely because of the rookie's strong play as a surprise starter in his first Maverick game.
"Luck of the draw for me on that one," Ferrell said. "The first thing was I was just thinking they were normal free throws in the first quarter. I just went up there with confidence and knocked them down."
Ferrell finished with nine points and seven assists in 36 minutes. The Mavericks were plus-12 when he was on the court. Nobody had a better plus-minus.
Plus, after a couple of shaky possessions to start the game, he played very solidly against Tony Parker. He attributed Parker's early unimpeded run to the basket and a foul on the next possession to nerves.
"Being back in the league, a little bit," he said. "It was eye-opening for me when coach told me (he was starting). But as the game went on, I just started playing."
Injuries to Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and most recently, the waiving of Pierre Jackson, gave Ferrell a chance to make the start.
"Give Yogi a lot of credit," Dirk Nowitzki said. "First game, starting against Tony Parker and he made two big free throws down the stretch. He's a fighter. He's strong in there. That was fun to watch."
Not that coach Rick Carlisle had a lot of options, of course. Seth Curry is the only other true point guard on the team and he played some at shooting guard with Ferrell in the game.
"We know he's a high-character kid from a great program at Indiana," Carlisle said. "This was a real opportunity for him and it was only fitting that he had an opportunity to knock down the two game-winning shots."
