OKLAHOMA CITY – The hot question after what everybody agreed was the Mavericks’ best game of the season was just how they have developed a mastery of the team with the best record in the Western Conference.
Spencer Dinwiddie had the best answer – P.J. Washington.
“We talk about P.J. a lot in terms of how he blends our lineups together (with) his versatility,” Dinwiddie said after Washington had 22 points and 19 rebounds on Thursday. “I think he poses a very unique issue for them with his size and ability to also move well. He can also defend.”
And, he said, when Oklahoma City goes to bigger (or smaller) lineups, it doesn’t put Washington at a disadvantage.
“P.J. can kind of stay in that tweener position and still guard,” Dinwiddie said, “but also punish them – he had, what, 20 rebounds tonight?”
Well, that point is open to debate (see below). But there is no disputing Washington’s domination of the Thunder, as he showed in the 121-115 victory on Thursday, a monumental upset considering the Mavericks were missing seven players, every one of whom has started at least one game except for Dwight Powell and Dante Exum, who has missed the entire season.
And three of the missing players are full-time starters: Luka Dončić, Dereck Lively II and Klay Thompson.
None of which impacted Washington, who has absolutely owned the Thunder this season and, really, a lot longer than that. His 17.5-point career scoring average against the Thunder is his second-highest against any team in the league (Sacramento, 19.1).
Just this season, Washington had 27 points and 17 rebounds on Nov. 17 when the Mavericks beat the Thunder 121-119.
In the only meeting in Dallas on Jan. 17, he had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Then he turned in Thursday’s gem.
He missed the game on Dec. 10 in Oklahoma and the Mavericks lost by 14 points.
So in his three meetings with the Thunder this season, he has averaged 22 points and 14.3 rebounds.
And, of course, he averaged 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in the six-game playoff series against the thunder last spring. He had games of 29 and 27 points, with the Mavericks winning both.
He has been called “a different player” on social media by folks in Oklahoma anytime he sees the Thunder, which he finds amusing.
There are other reasons why the Mavericks played so well so often against the Thunder this season. They went 2-1 in OKC. The rest of the NBA is 1-19.
And their 3-1 series win this season will give the Thunder plenty to think about should these teams meet again in the playoffs.
Here’s what else stood out in the Mavericks’ win at Paycom Center:
Making them work for everything: The Mavericks’ defense won’t get a ton of credit, but it should. They allowed the Thunder to score just six second-chance points. That’s a winning number for the Mavericks. In addition, while they had a lot of turnovers (20), the Thunder only turned those miscues into 13 points, which is a good sign that the Mavericks were getting back on defense and making life tougher for the Thunder. The Mavs, by the way, scored 20 points off just 13 OKC turnovers.
Incinerating the vaunted OKC D: The Thunder have the No. 1 defensive rating in the league, but you wouldn’t know it by Thursday. The Mavericks shot 52.7 percent and 45.2 percent from three-point range. Kyrie Irving had 24 points and said the Mavericks made a point not to let the Thunder’s trapping and over-aggressive hands get to them. “You watch their film against other teams and they are just blitzing everybody and the pressure is getting to teams,” Irving said. The Mavericks did not let that happen. Yes, they had some turnovers, but they were poised throughout the game.
Everybody chipped in: And we mean, everybody. When Daniel Gafford went down late in the first half with a head injury and didn’t return until the second half, it meant Markieff Morris got meaningful minutes. O-Max Prosper was pressed into a bigger role. Kessler Edwards, a two-way contract player, started. “Everybody had something to do with this,” Kidd said. “The energy and effort on a back to back was at a high. The guys played hard. They executed the game plan. I thought this was a character win, maybe the best win of the season – shorthanded, next-man-up mentality.” As for Edwards, Kidd said: “I thought Kess did a great job starting, being able to see how he handled the situation. I thought he did a really good job. I thought O-Max also did a good job coming off the bench. Guys played with joy and fun. It’s not easy to win here.” Indeed, it took a village.
X: @ESefko
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