For a bout three seconds on Tuesday night, P.J. Washington was the hero for the Dallas Mavericks after he gave his team a 119-118 lead with 2.6 seconds left. In a game that went back and forth for the entire fourth quarter, his layup, which came off a Luka Doncic pass, felt like it was going to be the one to get the Mavs over the hump, especially since the Cavs didn't have any timeouts remaining.
But then disaster struck, as Max Strus inbounded the ball for Cleveland, then got it back and heaved a 59-foot shot at the buzzer to hand the Mavs a back-breaking 121-119 loss.
Washington, who has struggled on offense since coming over from the Charlotte Hornets before this season's trade deadline, finished with 11 points on 5-8 shooting to go with two rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block while being a team-best +17 on the night.
"We should've closed that game out in a better way," Washington said following the game. "We felt like we should have won that game. To lose like that, it definitely hurts."
Although it's a deflating feeling to go from feeling like a hero to losing on a buzzer-beater, Washington and the rest of the Mavs must find a way to turn this into motivation going into Wednesday night's matchup with the Toronto Raptors. Sure, Strus went on an all-time fourth-quarter heater, and there were some highly-questionable calls by the officials in the Mavs' loss to the Cavs, but there were also a handful of things Dallas could've done better, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
With the Western Conference race being as tight as it is, the Mavs simply can't afford a losing streak at this point in the season. They can either pick up the pieces, show mental toughness, and get this thing back on track ... or else they might be destined for the Play-In Tournament.
More must-reads: