Dallas, TX
P.J. Washington Emerging as Dallas Mavericks’ Third Scorer Against OKC Thunder
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
“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.
“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.”
READ MORE: Dereck Lively II Punished Thunder’s ‘Disrespect’ at Free Throw Line
READ MORE: Luka Doncic Continues ‘Battling’ Through Injuries During Playoff Run
READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Take 2-1 Series Lead Over OKC Thunder
Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
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