As he’s done so many times, Klay Thompson put on a very impressive three-point shooting clinic Monday night, helping propel the
Dallas Mavericks to a convincing 130-108 triumph over the Washington Wizards at American Airlines Center.
With the win, the Mavs moved to 25-22 headed into a five-game road trip starting Wednesday in New Orleans. Meanwhile, the Wizards, dropped to an NBA-worst 6-39.
Thompson finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-12 three-pointers, Olivier-Maxence Prosper had a career-high tying 20 points and five rebounds, P. J. Washington collected 19 points and nine rebounds, and Daniel Gafford contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. In addition for the Mavs, Kyrie Irving tallied 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jaden Hardy scored 12 points.
For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly poured in 16 points while Jordan Poole and Corey Kispert had 15 points apiece.
Thompson, who had an NBA-record nine three-pointers in one quarter Jan. 23, 2015, against the Sacramento Kings while he was playing for the Golden State Warriors, was 7-of-10 from downtown and scored 21 points in the first quarter. The seven triples tied the Mavs’ franchise record for the most three-pointers in a quarter set by Luka Dončić on Feb. 10, 2022 in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Admittedly, Thompson came out in a more aggressive mood, and the Wizards paid the price.
“I think there’s emphasis from (assistant) coach (Jared) Dudley for me to be more aggressive, and it just happened to be one of those nights where I had a really good first quarter,” Thompson said. “I can’t lie to y’all, it felt great. It always feels great to shoot the ball well.
“It just felt great because we needed a win where we put a team away early. It’s been a while since we had one, so it’s nice to kind of do that collectively.”
Thompson was in such a zone that he made as many three-pointers in the first quarter as the Wizards had total field goals. With the fans urging him on, he certainly shook off that mini-slump he was in after entering Monday’s game with a total of only 19 points on 6-of-16 shots in the previous three games.
“That’s vintage Klay right there,” Prosper said. “I told him on the bench: ‘That’s the Klay I know.’
“(He’s one of the) all-time three-point shooters right there, and one of the best. And to start a game like that, what more can you ask for a team to start like that? And then when the second unit came in we stayed with that same intensity. We played hard and defended the right way and pushed the ball in transition.”
Some fans hadn’t even settled into their seats before Thompson was tossing in three-pointers from all over the court. As Thompson was draining 
four consecutive threes, the Mavs mounted a 28-7 lead when they quickly put some distance between themselves and the Wizards.
“It was one of those nights where (the ball) felt good off my hand,” Thompson said. “It’s still a learning process for all of us.
“I like that we lean on each other and make no excuses for how to perform nightly.”
The Mavs led, 42-16, after the first quarter, which also saw them distribute 13 assists. In that quarter, the Mavs were 16-of-26 from the field and 9-of-13 from downtown.
Dallas’ offense was running so smoothly that the lead swelled to 63-25 midway through the second quarter following three-pointers by Quentin Grimes and Washington, a pair of triples by Hardy, and a dunk by Washington via a pass from Thompson.
“I think (Thompson) set the tone and he was great tonight,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought he got us going and I think everybody else followed after that.
“We set screens, we ran stuff for him and he responded in a positive way. I thought Spencer (Dinwiddie) did a great job of finding him, and I thought the others did, too.”
With the Mavs’ on cruise control, they were able to carry a 101-76 lead into the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Prosper fired in 11 of his points in the first half and wound up shooting 7-of-11 from the field in only 25 minutes.
“I put in a lot of work and just trusted my game and every shot felt really good,” Prosper said. “I was just making every play with confidence, and it definitely felt good.”
Mavs center Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Naji Marshall (illness), Dwight Powell (right hip strain, Maxi Kleber (fractured right foot), Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) and Dončić (strained left calf) did not play. However, Wizards coach Brian Keefe said he didn’t think their absence would slow down what the Mavs wanted to accomplish.
“They’ve still got great players,” Keefe said. “It obviously starts with Irving. Spencer Dinwiddie’s playing well. We obviously know Gafford well. There’s Klay Thompson.”
With Klay leading the way, the Mavs shot 53.3 percent from the field, converted 20-of-45 three-pointers for 44.4 percent, and amassed 39 assists among their 49 field goals.
“It’s something we have to do to be successful with our best players out,” Thompson said. “We rely on Kyrie so much, as we should, because he’s one of the greatest iso scorers in the history of the game.
“But it’s on the rest of us to make it easier for him, and it’ll just be that much better and we’ll have that much more confidence with Luka and Kai in the lineup again together.”
Gafford – the Mavs’ starting center who they acquired from the Wizards last Feb. 8 – was very destructive inside the paint and converted 8-of-13 field goals
“I think when (Gafford) looks at the injuries he’s just trying to do everything he can to help the team,” Kidd said. “Rebounding, scoring, blocking shots.
“He is playing a lot more minutes and we need that right now, especially with all the injuries. I think he’s up for the task to help the team and that’s what he’s doing.”
Thompson, who personally outscored the Wizards by five points in the first quarter, was definitely up for the task as his shooting spree got the Mavs in the right frame of mind rather quickly.
“It’s something we can build off,” Thompson said, “and we’ll try and emulate that in New Orleans because they’re a good defensive team.”
X: @DwainPrice
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