It most certainly was good to have P.J. Washington back on the floor for the Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.
What wasn’t so great was having Quentin Grimes back in American Airlines Center.
The former Maverick who was dealt to Philadelphia before the trade deadline, had 28 points to lead a determined, but understaffed, bunch of 76ers to a 130-125 victory, extending what is becoming a prolonged, rugged stretch for the Mavs.
Despite trailing throughout the fourth quarter, the Mavericks had a chance to tie it on their final possession, but Spencer Dinwiddie got an inbounds pass from Naji Marshall and his three-pointer caromed off the rim and the Sixers rebounded and finished it with a pair of free throws.
“Klay (Thompson) was coming to get it,” coach Jason Kidd said of the final play. “Naji’s our quarterback, he made the right play in thinking Klay was maybe covered. And went to Spence. Spence took a good shot, just hit the back rim. We had a good opportunity there.”
The Mavericks now have lost eight of their last nine and have fallen to 33-36.
The Sixers, who had lost 15 of 17 before Sunday, improved to 23-44.
Nevertheless, Washington’s return offered a kernel of positive news for the Mavericks. He had a double-double before the end of the third quarter and finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds.
“I felt great, back to normal,” said Washington. “It felt great just to be back out there, I woke up early this morning, just excited to play. Definitely happy I’m back healthy.
“Obviously, we didn’t come out with the win. The second half wasn’t too good for us, especially that third quarter. Obviously, there’s some things we need to correct. Overall, we were terrible on the offensive end when it comes to turnovers. We beat ourselves with that. We had 15 turnovers. That’s unacceptable. It shouldn’t have even gotten down to the last shot. If we don’t turn the ball over, we win the game.
In addition to the turnovers, the Mavericks could not stop the Sixers, who broke free with a big third quarter (34-18) and then kept the hammer down as the Mavericks tried to make headway in the fourth.
“We were flat,” coach Jason Kidd said of the third quarter. “In the first half we attacked the paint and did a lot of good things. And in the third quarter, we were just flat. Offensively, we missed some shots, but it was more (isolation) instead of moving the ball. We can get better at that. And on the defensive end, we just gave up some offensive rebounds. We kind of just stood there and watched.”
It was Grimes’ three-point play that made it 124-115 with just over two minutes left. But Dinwiddie and Klay Thompson hit three-pointers to make it 124-121 with 1:35 showing.
Neither side scored until Dinwiddie, who had 18 points off the bench, drove with 37.4 to go to make it a one-point game at 124-123. Naji Marshall (21 points) blocked Grimes in the paint, but a foul was called. Jason Kidd quickly called for a challenge, but the call on the court stood with 25.4 to go.
Grimes’ free throws made it 126-123. Washington got free in the paint for an easy bucket, but the Mavericks had to foul. Jared Butler made both free throws with 12 seconds left, setting up the Mavericks’ final shot.
“Obviously, he’s been doing a hell of a job,” Washington said of his former teammate, Grimes, who he had a running conversation with on the court. “I’m happy for him.”
As were the Mavericks happy to have Washington back.
“First time in a while, I thought he was really, really good,” Kidd said. “He did a lot of good things. He helped us score and hopefully he comes out of this clean.”
The Sixers are probably the only NBA team that can give the Mavericks a run in the injury department.
They are without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Eric Gordon, among others.
The Mavericks remain shorthanded with Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford and others out.
That’s why it was such a positive day just to have Washington back on the floor.
Washington was on a minutes restriction, but he played 32. And it certainly didn’t diminish his aggression. On the Mavericks’ first two possessions, they went to Washington and he drove to the rim and ended up shooting four free throws in the first 1:18 of the game.
It was the sort of energy that had been missing Friday in Houston and several other games since Washington went out two weeks ago with an ankle injury.
The Mavericks were 1-6 without him, although losing Irving for the season at roughly the same time may have had something to do with that, too.
Washington’s play was part of the reason that the Mavericks were able to turn a 36-29 deficit into a 48-40 lead in the second quarter as they turned up the defensive heat that had been missing early in the game.
They led 68-64 at halftime, but that didn’t last long in the third quarter, after which they were trailing 98-86. By then, Washington had 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the Mavericks were in no mood to put up much resistance against the Sixers, who shot 58 percent in the third quarter and got 11 points from Grimes.
The Mavericks were 4-of-16 in the quarter.
“I think the third quarter really hurt us,” said Max Christie, who had 18 points off the bench. “We lost the third quarter by 16 points. That’s going to hurt us when you come out of the break with no energy.
“We’re already down a lot of guys. We need to provide that energy for ourselves. There isn’t a lot of reinforcements coming. That third quarter is what lost us the game.”
X: @ESefko
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