Washington showing signs of becoming Mavs’ third scorer

BOSTON – While the Dallas Mavericks’ search for a consistent scorer behind Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving is still up in the air, P.J. Washington has made a strong case that he has emerged as that dude.

Especially if his last two games are any indication.

Against Toronto and Boston, Washington averaged 20 points, 6.5 rebounds, two blocks and just one turnover in 33 minutes per contest. During that two-game span, Washington shot 50 percent from the field (16-of-32) and converted 8-of-19 shots from three-point land for 42.1 percent.

Washington scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds in Wednesday’s 136-125 win over the Toronto Raptors. He followed that up with 17 points and seven boards during Friday’s 138-110 loss to the Boston Celtics.

In essence, Washington is the current leader in the locker room to pick up that all-important third-man scoring role behind Dončić and Irving.

“I thought P.J. played great on both ends,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said following the game against Boston. “Again, stepping up defensively, and then offensively taking the shots when he was open.

“He was the third guy (Friday) to join that Luka and Kai group, and we’re going to need him to continue to do that.”

The Mavs acquired Washington from the Charlotte Hornets for Grant Williams on Feb. 8. Meanwhile, they’re just trying to get him settled into their way of doing things.

“He’s getting more and more comfortable with the schemes here,” Dončić said. “He’s getting more comfortable every game, and we’re going to need that for sure.”

The Mavs know Washington can score. That became even more evident when he tallied a career-high tying 43 points – including 31 in the second half — on Jan. 27 against the Utah Jazz while he was still playing for the Hornets.

Washington came off the bench in that game against the Jazz and was a very efficient 17-of-22 from the floor, including 7-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc.

Here are the three takeaways from the 28-point loss to the Celtics.

LUKA TWO-FOR-TWO IN TRIPLE-DOUBLES SINCE TURNING 25: Mavs point guard Luka Doncic continues to prove that he is almost un-guardable, and that there are no limits to his game. For the second straight game since he turned 25 years old on Wednesday, Doncic punched the time clock and wound up registering his second straight triple-double. He finished Friday’s game with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists – one game after he collected 30 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists on his birthday during Wednesday’s game against Toronto.

NEWS FLASH — CELTICS ARE REALLY, REALLY GOOD: There’s a reason the Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 47-12, and the best home record in the league at 28-3. They’re that good. It’s hard to find a sure-fire weakness on the Celtics’ roster and in their game. They’re tied together like two peas in a pod. On Friday, the Celtics shot 55.3 percent from the field (52-of-94) and 48.8 percent from behind the three-point stripe (48.8 percent). They also distributed 32 assists in addition to out-rebounding the Mavs, 47-42.

SCHEDULE DIDN’T FAVOR MAVS: The schedule is what it is, but this was not a fine time for the Mavs to be playing the best team in the NBA. They may have had a better chance if they played Boston to start this four-game road trip instead of playing the Celtics on the final day of this grueling seven-day road trip. This wound up being the Mavs’ fourth game in six days — and it showed. Once the game got tight midway through the third quarter, the fresher team – the Celtics – was able to continue putting their foot on the pedal. The more fatigue team – the Mavs – had nothing left in the tank. Meanwhile, prior to playing the Mavs, Boston hadn’t played a game since Tuesday, while the Mavs had a game on Tuesday in Cleveland and Wednesday in Toronto.

X: @DwainPrice