Five thoughts from the Dallas Mavericks’ 116-111 loss in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers:
Bottom line
With a victory at home in Game 4, the Mavericks had an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-7 first-round series. How commanding? Entering this season’s playoffs, teams that have taken a 3-1 series lead have gone on to win 95.4% of the time: 268-13.
By losing Sunday afternoon, Dallas lost homecourt advantage and the series is tied 2-2. That sets up a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles. In NBA history, when series are tied at 2-2, the Game 5 winner goes on to win the series 81.7% of the time: 188-42.
The Rally
The Clippers took a 55-24 lead after James Harden’s 3-pointer with 5:43 left in the second quarter. Dallas stormed back by scoring 52 of the next 73 points to pull within 78-76 on a Kyrie Irving 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
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The Clippers pushed the advantage back up to 92-81, but a Derrick Jones Jr. 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the game started another rally. When Luka Doncic’s 3-pointer with 5:03 left tied the score at 98, it marked the game’s first tie since it was 0-0.
Kyrie Irving’s layup with 2:14 left gave Dallas its first lead, 105-104, since it was 8-7 in the game’s opening minutes.
Paul George erupts
The self-anointed Paul “Playoff P” George entered Game 4 averaging 40% shooting while scoring only 51 points for the series, including just 9 points in Game 3. In Games 2 and 3 he totaled the same number of fouls as field goals: 10.
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But in Game 4, George scored 16 points in the first quarter alone and had 26 by halftime to finish with 33. He was especially deadly from 3-point range, making 7-of-10 attempts.
No Kawhi, no problem
Clippers president Lawrence Frank announced before the game that there had been an “organizational decision” to sit six-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, due to a return of soreness and inflammation in his right knee.
Frank said it was clear to everyone in the organization, including Leonard, that he wasn’t himself in Game 3, when he scored 9 points and pulled down 9 rebounds while being limited to 25 minutes of court time.
“The obvious question I know is coming: ‘When’s he coming back?’ I can’t tell you a timeline,” Frank said. “I wish I had a crystal ball. It will just basically be until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make. That’s when he’ll come back. That will be the timeframe.”
Much like when they played without Leonard in Game 1, the Clippers jumped out to a big early lead. In Game 1 they led 34-22 after one quarter. In Game 4 they 39-16 after one quarter.
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Dallas defense falters
The Clippers scored 93 points in Game 2 and 90 in Game 3, marking the lowest back-to-back outputs by Mavericks opponents this season. On Sunday afternoon, though, the Clippers shot 61% in the first quarter and 54% for the game to finish at 116 points.
It was reported last week that the NFL schedule was set to release this coming Wednesday, May 15th. On Monday morning the league officially confirmed that.
As far as the official start time is concerned the schedule will release on Wednesday at 8pm ET, but if history is any indication there will be a number of leaks before that. Recently the league has also sprinkled official announcements for a handful of games in the lead up as well. This usually happens on a major program for the network in question (NBC’s The Today Show will announce NBC games as an example) and can also be expected between now and Wednesday evening.
We already know that the Philadelphia Eagles will “host” the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil on the first Friday night of the season, but on Monday the NFL announced the kickoff game that will occur one day before as well. The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, September 5th to start the whole party.
There will likely be leaks and/or reports about the Dallas Cowboys schedule and we will corral them all for you right here.
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DALLAS — P.J. Washington is making a name for himself in the playoffs, emerging as the Dallas Mavericks’ third scoring threat behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Washington scored 27 points, including five 3-pointers, to help the Mavericks take a 2-1 series lead over the Thunder. This follows his playoff career highs in points (29) and 3-pointers (seven) in Game 2.
Washington’s first possession in Game 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder set the tone for another impressive performance. He brought the ball up the court, handed it off to Irving, and then cut to the basket for a one-handed flush over the dynamic rim protector that is Chet Holmgren.
“Just trying to be aggressive. I knew he was gonna be help-side, so I just tried to get an early post up and just try to put him in the basket,” Washington said.
May 11, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) shoots over Oklahoma / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Since Game 2, the Mavericks have mixed up their approach offensively to begin games, prioritizing getting the ball to Washington in the post since he tends to be guarded by a weaker defender the Thunder want to hide from being the direct matchup on Doncic or Irving. He’s made Oklahoma City pay with his combination of size and skill.
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“We went to him again first play, he was hitting the corners, he made 5 3-pointers today,” Doncic said. “But amazing, being aggressive, shooting with confidence, and we believe in him.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd even admitted that given Washington’s results rising to the ocassion, perhaps the team should have turned to him as more of a featured option sooner.
“I think we maybe should have gone to him a little bit earlier,” Kidd said. “The confidence we have in P.J on both ends of the floor, not just shooting the 3 but being able to play in the post or being able to run the offense and get us organized. He has the skillset that he can put the ball on the floor and can make the right plays. We trust that he is going to find the open guy if he isn’t scoring.”
It goes far beyond just running plays for Washington since he’s still doing much of his scoring within the flow of the offense, proving to be such a strong complement to the team that traded for him in February. The combination of being able to attack smaller defenders in the post with the ability to get hot as a catch-and-shoot threat while being capable of re-driving against closeouts to get to the rim or play off of two feet for a floater fills a role on the wing the Mavericks have needed for years.
“We’ve had a committee, as of late. P.J. has taken on that role at a very high level, and we’re going to need him to continue to do that,” Kidd said. “When you have someone that you can go to in the post or who’s able to catch and shoot or also re-drive, P.J. has a skill set to be that third score on that night or even that second score or if our stars are being double teamed.”
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Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised Washington, referencing Washington’s history against Oklahoma City before being traded by the Charlotte Hornets, where he led the team to a season sweep last season. He scored 25 points while shooting 10-13 from the floor in the first meeting before dropping a career-high 43 points at Paycom Center on March 28, 2023.
“It felt like every shot went in when he was in Charlotte,” Daigneault said. “We knew he was a really good player. We have a lot of respect for him, but you have to determine what your priorities are.”
Oklahoma City prioritized blitzing Irving and a hobbled Doncic, which led to open 3-point shots for the Mavericks’ other players. When the opportunity presented itself, Washington took advantage of those looks, including the corner 3-pointer that punctuated a 16-0 run for Dallas in the third quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander left Washington on that play to help double-team Doncic.
“He’s hooping,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We have to turn that water off if we want to win this series, for sure.”
Washington has been shooting 12-23 from 3-point range over the last two games and 18-34 since Game 6 of the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series against the LA Clippers. He’s risen to the occasion against defensive strategies emphasizing pre-rotating the low defender to tag the roller and help against drives.
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“They’ve been leaving me in the corner, so I’m just trying to take my time and knock them down,” Washington said. “They’re open shots, so for me, just take them with confidence. I’ve been working on them. That’s all I’m doing, honestly.”
While the scoring flurries that Washington has provided the Mavericks have undoubtedly provided a substantial lift to the team in pivotal moments, he remains an integral contributor to their defense. Whether he’s directly guarding tough on-ball assignments, switching, making timely rotations as the low defender to protect the paint, closing out on a shooter, or using his instincts to record a block or steal, it remains the foundation of his impact.
After two astonishing playoff games against the best team in the Western Conference, Washington emphasized the need to stay “even-keeled.”
“No. I’m even-keeled. Can’t get high. Can’t get too low,” Washington said. “It’s only two games, and we need two more, so for me, it’s even-keeled.”
The Mavericks need to win two more games to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second time in three years. With Washington’s continued emergence, they may have found the third-scoring threat they need to make a deep playoff run.
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“He is just comfortable. You can see that the last two games, but you have seen since March that he is comfortable. Being home, being in the playoffs, he is excited,” Kidd said. “He has been great on both ends and we will need him to continue to do that and get even better on both ends if we want to try and do anything in this series.”
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