DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday by a final score of 105-101. Dallas now holds a 2-1 series lead over Oklahoma City.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both scored 22 points in the game, but it was PJ Washington who led the charge with 27 points. Washington went 11-23 from the field and 5-12 from beyond the arc.
Doncic was battling a right knee sprain and left ankle soreness. Additionally, the Thunder’s defense was focused on containing Doncic and Irving. Both players still performed well considering the circumstances, but Washington’s offensive contributions made the difference in the game.
“They have been leaving me in the corner, so I’m just trying to take my time and knock them down,” Washington said. “Just open shots. For me, just take them with confidence, I mean I’ve been working on them. That’s all I’m doing honestly.”
Washington kept his answer simple. He knows opposing defenses are always prepared for the Mavericks superstar duo, but he is always ready to step up and make a pivotal impact.
“Good… What did he make, five threes today? Amazing, being aggressive, shooting with confidence,” Doncic said of Washington’s performance. “We believe in him.”
“I believe that when you’re an offensive player… and you start off the game with a make or a post-up… It does something for your confidence,” Irving said of Washington. “It does something for him energetic wise, you can tell. He runs up and down the court feeling even better about himself so to see him shoot well, he starts the game off well.. I think he’s just engaged. It’s not like we haven’t seen him engaged but when he starts hitting shots then those little things on the defensive end start to be a lot tougher on the opposing player because that confidence goes hand in hand…. He’s open for a reason, right, that was part of their gameplan. So we have to make them pay for that.
“Now that he’s had two good games we have to expect that in Game 4 they are going to come out with a different adjustment and just want to continue to feed him confidence. Keep that right elbow tucked when he’s shooting those threes because it looks beautiful.”
Mavericks’ “next man up” mentality
Doncic admitted that he is in a lot of pain after the game. He certainly intends to keep playing and the Mavs star does not want to make any excuses.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was asked about the team’s performance amid Doncic’s injury concern.
“We’ve been here before, we’re not built on one guy,” Kidd said. “We’re built on a team. If Luka is hurting, next man up. And someone has got to pick him up. It’s not just Kai (Kyrie Irving). It’s the other guys… Timmy (Tim Hardaway Jr.) has been great for us, Josh (Green) was big for us off the bench. That’s what makes the beauty of sport… That it’s a team. It’s not golf where we just have a player and a caddie.
“This is a group that believes that if somebody is hurting, they are going to pick them up. Luka hurting, he’s doing everything to put the team in a position to win. So that’s what a leader does. This is a special group, they believe in helping one another.”
Dereck Lively II stepped up with 12 points off the bench. Oklahoma City turned to a Hack-a-Shaq strategy to send Lively to the free throw line. He responded well to the strategy, however.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Daniel Gafford both added eight points. Of course, PJ Washington did more than enough to help Kyrie and Luka with his 27-point outburst.
The Mavericks are confident right now. Oklahoma City will not go away quietly, but Dallas is in a good position heading into Game 4.
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