<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-gets-massive-injury-update-clippers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets massive injury update before Clippers game');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mavericks-news-PJ-Washington-gets-massive-injury-update-before-Clippers-game.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets massive injury update before Clippers game</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-14T17:21:58-07:00">October 14th, 5:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-14T17:24:56-07:00">October 14th, 5:24pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-klay-thompson-pj-washington-injury-updates">Dallas Mavericks will have PJ Washington</a>, who’s been battling a hip tightness injury, make his <a href="https://x.com/joeymistretta_/status/1845958439366742061" rel="noopener">preseason debut</a> against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, per ClutchPoints’ Joey Mistretta. Washington did not appear in the Mavs’ first two preseason games.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Mavericks are still without Luka Doncic (calf contusion). On Saturday, head coach Jason Kidd said Doncic would likely need more time to be <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1845155163750715652" rel="noopener">evaluated later in the week</a>, per Mistretta.</p><p>“I would not say Monday,” Kidd said. “But we will see how everything is going when we come back from LA. We will probably have a better sense of what’s going to take place on Thursday.”</p><p>Last February, Dallas traded with the Charlotte Hornets for PJ Washington and 2024 and 2028 second-round picks for Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick.</p><h2><b>PJ Washington’s role in the Mavericks’ frontcourt</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mavericks-PJ-Washington-warming-up.jpg"><figcaption>© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Washington fit right in during last year’s NBA Finals run, just ask former <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-dirk-nowitzki-pj-washington-2024-nba-finals">Mavericks’ legend Dirk Nowitski</a>.</p><p>“Well I think who is at hand is PJ Washington, I think that deal really put us over the top,” Nowitzki said on The Big Podcast with Shaq. “I think we had a good team before, but getting PJ and Gaff (Gafford) at the trading deadline was an unbelievable move by the management. It gave us some depth, gave us length, and PJ has been incredible, and I think in Charlotte maybe at times, I don’t know if they wanted him to score too much or I’m not really sure what the problem was but here he’s just a perfect fit and match for the guys.</p><p>“He can make a shot, he brings toughness, and he brings defense and length, so he’s been super fun, and he’s here from Dallas, you know he grew up in Frisco.”</p><p>Now, with Klay Thompson in the mix, the Mavericks have an interesting combination of shooting and length to their frontcourt. Washington and Gafford are both athletic and long inside the paint. Thompson adds a lights-out shooter to replace Tim Hardaway Jr., who had spent the last six years in Dallas.</p><p>Washington is also a solid three-point shooter, contributing 1.8 3PM per game last year and a 35.4 career 3P%.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets massive injury update before Clippers game

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-dishes-truth-on-viral-2024-playoff-moment');   ga('set', 'title', 'PJ Washington dishes truth on viral 2024 Mavericks playoff moment');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PJ-Washington-dishes-truth-on-viral-2024-playoff-moment.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>PJ Washington dishes truth on viral 2024 Mavericks playoff moment</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-12T09:41:41-07:00">October 12th, 9:41am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-12T09:41:41-07:00">October 12th, 9:41am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>PJ Washington recently opened up about a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-ascends-dallas-hero-viral-clippers-moment">viral moment during the Dallas Mavericks</a>‘ 2024 first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. In an interview on ESPN, the Mavericks forward <a href="https://x.com/ESPNNBA/status/1844913932835709200" rel="noopener">reflected on the incident</a> that caught the attention of fans and media alike.</p><p>“Terrance Mann came out and he pushed me a little bit—and told me to stop looking at the bench,” Washington said. “And I was like, you’re not going to stop me. So, I went over and did this,” he added, referring to the viral moment where he crossed his arms with a smug look, a gesture that immediately gained widespread attention. “It became viral,” Washington said, laughing about the memorable scene.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Chills.</p><p>Clutch: The NBA Playoffs presented by NBA2K25 on PS5 | Now on ESPN 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/b487fiiD1t">pic.twitter.com/b487fiiD1t</a></p><p>— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1844913932835709200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>The moment occurred during the fourth quarter of Game 3, with Washington standing his ground after Mann’s shove. The encounter led to double technical fouls, but Washington remained calm, holding his crossed-arm pose as teammates and opponents reacted heatedly around him. The Mavericks eventually won that game 101-90, giving them a 2-1 series lead.</p><h2><b>PJ Washington reflects on viral moment that defined the Mavericks’ playoff run</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P.J.-Washington-25-yells-at-the-Oklahoma-City-Thunder.jpg"><figcaption>© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Mavericks went on to defeat the Clippers in six games, advancing past the first round. They continued their strong playoff run, advancing through the Western Conference and ultimately securing a spot in the NBA Finals. Despite falling short of a championship, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-most-to-blame-for-embarrassing-nba-finals-game-5-loss-to-celtics">losing in five games to the Boston Celtics</a>, Washington’s contributions were pivotal throughout the postseason. The forward averaged 13 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, playing a key role in the Mavericks’ success.</p><p>As the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-daniel-gafford-2024-25-goal-dallas">Mavericks prepare for the 2024-25 season</a>, they hope to replicate their deep playoff run. Washington’s performance, particularly his ability to stay composed in pressure-filled moments, serves as a positive indicator for the team’s prospects. His viral moment with Mann is not just a highlight for social media but a testament to the competitive edge he brought to Dallas’ postseason push.</p><p>The Mavericks are looking to build on last season’s momentum, and Washington will be crucial in their plans to challenge for the Western Conference title once again.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

PJ Washington dishes truth on viral 2024 Mavericks playoff moment

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-dallas-klay-thompson-pj-washington-injury-updates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks get crucial Klay Thompson, PJ Washington injury updates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mavericks-news-Dallas-gets-crucial-Klay-Thompson-PJ-Washington-injury-updates.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks get crucial Klay Thompson, PJ Washington injury updates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-11T13:38:56-07:00">October 11th, 1:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-11T13:38:56-07:00">October 11th, 1:38pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks held practice on Friday and head coach Jason Kidd provided two important injury updates after the practice. Klay Thompson is dealing with back tightness, while PJ Washington is battling hip tightness.</p><p>“He did the walk-through, did some stuff on the floor,” Kidd said of Thompson. “Then he got his treatment, so we will see how he feels tomorrow.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-klay-thompson-playing-dallas-jazz">Thompson made his Mavs debut</a> on Thursday and played well for the most part. The Mavs are hoping Thompson’s injury concern is not anything serious. They will monitor the situation before making a decision on his official availability for Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.</p><p>Washington has yet to play in a preseason game. He was <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1844798743117214176" rel="noopener">seen participating in a drill</a> on Friday, however.</p><p>“He’s been great. He got some work in today, he will get some work in tomorrow,” Kidd said of Washington. “We will see how he feels for Monday.”</p><p>There does not seem to be too much concern about either injury, but the Mavs will continue to keep a close eye on both situations.</p><h2><b>Mavericks have championship aspirations</b></h2><p>The primary goal for this Mavs team is to not just reach the NBA Finals again, but to win a championship. Adding <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-klay-thompson-secret-championships">Klay Thompson, a four-time champion</a>, will help in that regard. Jason Kidd knows a thing or two about winning championships as well, having accomplished the feat with the Mavs as a player in 2011.</p><p>“When you talk about teams that have been successful, the first thing is sacrifice or being unselfish,” Kidd said. “Those are the two things that you will hear past champions or future champions talk about… being able to sacrifice or being unselfish. Being about the team. Then they will sprinkle in paying attention to details small and big. That’s what it takes to win.”</p><p>Staying healthy will also be of the utmost importance. Many talented teams have failed to accomplish their goals due to injuries. The Mavericks are already dealing with injury concerns, but Kidd knows how to navigate the adversity.</p><p>“For us, it’s almost normal. This was last year’s training camp, we had some injuries,” the Mavericks head coach said. “Just deal with it, you got to teach and coach the guys that you have. We have to be prepared, we have always taken that approach that if guys are hurt we got to go with the guys who can play… So you want to make sure that those guys are ready, but also for those guys that are working their way back into playing, we want to spend time with them, too.</p><p>“The nice thing is that PJ (Washington), Luka (Doncic) and Maxi (Kleber) have been in the system so they understand what we are trying to do so it shouldn’t take them that long. Hopefully we can get Kessler (Edwards) back, get him on the floor, see what he can do.”</p><p>For now, Kidd plans to help the available players learn the Mavericks’ system ahead of the season. Thompson’s availability will be especially important as a result as he looks to learn the Mavs’ complete scheme.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks get crucial Klay Thompson, PJ Washington injury updates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-preseason-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets pivotal preseason injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PJ-Washington-gets-pivotal-preseason-injury-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets pivotal preseason injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-07T18:37:54-07:00">October 7th, 6:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-07T18:37:54-07:00">October 7th, 6:37pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks’ preseason opener is on Monday night. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-klay-thompson-dallas-preseason">Four of the Mavs’ five starters are not playing in the game</a>, however, with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and PJ Washington being ruled out. Thompson and Irving are healthy and just resting, while Doncic is battling a calf injury and Washington is dealing with a hip concern. Mavs head coach Jason Kidd <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1843417686480417184" rel="noopener">provided an encouraging</a> Washington update before Monday’s game, however.</p><p>“There’s no concern,” Kidd said of Washington’s injury. “Hopefully he’s back soon.”</p><p>Kidd’s update was brief but promising. With the Mavs in the preseason, there is no reason to risk a long-term issue by rushing a player into action. The Mavs are being cautious, but it appears that there is no reason to worry about Washington, who is officially dealing with “left hip tightness” according to the injury report.</p><p>It has not yet been revealed when Washington and Doncic will make their preseason debuts. Meanwhile, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-klay-thompson-kyrie-irving-dallas-2024-25-preseason">Kidd hinted that Irving and Thompson may play on Thursday</a>.</p><p>The Mavericks have injury concerns to monitor. Fortunately, Washington should be alright barring any setbacks.</p><h2><b>PJ Washington looking for big 2024-25 season with Mavericks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PJ-Washington-warms-up-before-Grizzlies-Mavericks-preseason-game.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Washington was warming up before Monday’s preseason opener. Although he did not play, Washington looked ready to go.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PJ Washington looks ready to go. Mavericks are hoping he can return soon. <a href="https://t.co/egzDK2W3I4">pic.twitter.com/egzDK2W3I4</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1843428847137763435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The 26-year-old is expected to start alongside Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and either Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford. Washington was traded to the Mavs from the Charlotte Hornets before the 2023-24 trade deadline and immediately made a crucial impact on the team.</p><p>Washington ended up helping the Mavs reach the NBA Finals. He enjoyed some clutch moments in the postseason and emerged as a pivotal player for the team. That will not change during the 2024-25 campaign.</p><p>Washington averaged 12.9 points per game between the Hornets and Mavericks last season. He may be able to take a step forward as a three-point shooter with Thompson now on the roster. Defenses will need to focus on containing Thompson from beyond the arc, which may lead to more open looks for Washington.</p><p>At the moment, Washington is focused on getting healthy. He could return soon, though. The 2024-25 season has the potential to be a memorable campaign for PJ Washington.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ PJ Washington gets pivotal preseason injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-pj-washington-klay-thompson-dallas-adjustment');   ga('set', 'title', 'The role PJ Washington can play in Klay Thompson’s Mavericks adjustment');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/The-role-PJ-Washington-can-play-in-Klay-Thompsons-Mavericks-adjustment.jpg"></figure><h1>The role PJ Washington can play in Klay Thompson’s Mavericks adjustment</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-10T17:57:20-07:00">September 10th, 5:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-10T17:57:20-07:00">September 10th, 5:57pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Making an adjustment after joining a new team in the NBA always proves to be a challenge. It could especially be difficult for Klay Thompson, who had spent his entire career with the Golden State Warriors before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-dallas-klay-thompson-contract-free-agency">landing with the Dallas Mavericks this past offseason</a>. However, PJ Washington may be able to help Thompson’s transition.</p><p>Washington and Daniel Gafford were both acquired by the Mavs ahead of the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline. As a result, Washington was able to learn how to adjust to not only playing in Dallas, but playing as a wing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Washington may be able to give Thompson insights on the Mavs stars and how to properly adjust to playing with them.</p><p>Of course, Thompson will surely be ready regardless. He’s watched both players for years and should be ready for the challenge. Nevertheless, Thompson has only played for one NBA team in his career so it may take some time for him to find his rhythm.</p><h2><b>PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford adjusted to playing with Mavericks after trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PJ-Washington-and-Daniel-Gafford-celebrate-during-2024-NBA-Finals.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Washington averaged 11.7 points per game on 42.1 percent field goal and 31.4 percent three-point shooting with the Mavs after he was traded to Dallas from the Charlotte Hornets. Gafford, a center who was acquired from the Washington Wizards, recorded 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 78 percent from the field.</p><p>Gafford may be able to lend Thompson some advice as well, but Washington and Thompson will play similar roles for the Mavs. So Washington’s advice could be used for Thompson’s position as well.</p><p>Washington seemed to enjoy his first-half season in Dallas. It will be interesting to see what he will offer from a leadership perspective in addition to his on-court play in 2024-25.</p><h2><b>Washington discusses Mavericks’ offseason acquisitions</b></h2><p>The Mavs added a number of players in addition to Thompson during the offseason such as Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie. Washington believes in Dallas’ new players, <a href="https://x.com/DLLS_Mavs/status/1832853405003362418" rel="noopener">something he said during a recent interview</a>, via DLLS Mavs.</p><p>“They’re gonna be great,” Washington said of the Mavericks new players. “I’m excited for y’all to see. They can pretty much do everything and they’re gonna help us in every single way.”</p><p>He seems to have confidence in the Mavs’ offseason acquisitions. The 2024-25 campaign projects to be exciting as the new players look to help Washington, Gafford, Doncic and Irving lead the way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The role PJ Washington can play in Klay Thompson’s Mavericks adjustment

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-dallas-klay-thompson');   ga('set', 'title', 'PJ Washington’s honest reaction to Mavericks’ Klay Thompson addition');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PJ-Washingtons-honest-reaction-to-Klay-Thompson-addition.jpg"></figure><h1>PJ Washington’s honest reaction to Mavericks’ Klay Thompson addition</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-23T13:59:23-07:00">July 23rd, 1:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-23T14:02:33-07:00">July 23rd, 2:02pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks’ acquisition of Klay Thompson has been a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-klay-thompson-reaction">popular subject of discussion</a> throughout this offseason. Mavericks forward PJ Washington, who was acquired ahead of the 2023-24 NBA trade deadline, <a href="https://x.com/KevinGraySports/status/1815823804112760990" rel="noopener">was recently asked to share</a> his thoughts on the addition.</p><p>“I think it’s great,” Washington said, via Kevin Gray Jr. “I think he brings a lot to our team, a lot of leadership. Obviously he’s been at the top of the mountain for a while, so I think it’s great that he’s on our team and gives us some knowledge as well too.”</p><p>Adding a four-time champion like Klay Thompson is going to excite a team. PJ Washington and the Mavs fell just short of a championship this past season. They upset the odds and reached the NBA Finals, but the Boston Celtics ultimately won the championship after defeating the Mavericks in five games.</p><p>The Mavs could have used Thompson in the NBA Finals. Klay’s dangerous three-point shooting prowess is going to give defenses something else to consider when preparing to play against Dallas. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-klay-thompson-kyrie-irving-mvp-2024-25">Thompson’s presence should lead</a> to an all-around improved offense for the team.</p><h2><b>Klay Thompson, PJ Washington will play pivotal roles for Mavericks in 2024-25</b></h2><p>Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are the superstars. Either Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford will start at the center position. Thompson and Washington, meanwhile, will play on the wings.</p><p>Washington is a capable three-point shooter. He features the ability to catch fire and not look back. With that being said, he can be a bit inconsistent at times.</p><p>Having Thompson and Washington should help to balance out the team’s long-range attack. If Washington is struggling, Thompson can step up. When defenses place their focus on containing Thompson behind the arc then Washington should receive more open looks.</p><p>In fact, Washington may see his numbers improve as a result of Thompson’s presence on the Mavericks roster.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

PJ Washington’s honest reaction to Mavericks’ Klay Thompson addition

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-vocal-controversial-pj-washington-play-game-2-vs-celtics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Jason Kidd vocal on controversial PJ Washington play vs. Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mavericks-news-Jason-Kidd-vocal-on-controversial-PJ-Washington-play-that-doomed-Dallas-in-Game-2-vs.-Celtics.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Jason Kidd vocal on controversial PJ Washington play vs. Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-10T07:10:12-07:00">June 10th, 7:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-10T07:16:54-07:00">June 10th, 7:16am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics executed another effective game plan against the Dallas Mavericks in their 105-98 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, but the triumph did not come free of controversy. Once again, officiating is commanding <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-celtics-mavericks-fans-pile-veteran-referee-egregious-officiating">some unwanted attention</a> in the aftermath of a crucial contest.</p><p>With the Mavs trailing by five with less than a minute to play, Derrick Jones Jr. made a clutch block on a driving Jayson Tatum to give his team, specifically PJ Washington, a golden fast-break opportunity. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown were in pursuit, as the former got credited with a ferocious block of his own. The play produced a thunderous reaction in TD Garden and clinched a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-takeaways-gritty-game-2-win-nba-finals-over-mavericks">2-0 series lead for the Celtics</a>.</p><p>But not everyone agreed with the referee’s decision to swallow his whistle in that situation. Before Washington goes up for his dunk attempt, he receives a push in the back from Brown. White also makes contact with his hand on the block. The latter can arguably be considered incidental contact since the C’s guard is making a play on the ball, but the shove is far tougher to justify.</p><p>Fans will continue what has become a fairly recurring practice and divert their attention to the Last Two Minute Report upon its release. While Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd seems confident <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1800003386240270407" rel="noopener">in his opinion</a> of the late-game sequence, he is not making excuses.</p><p>“Looked like a foul,” Kidd said postgame Sunday night, via ClutchPoints (originally from <a href="https://x.com/cjzero" rel="noopener">@cjzero</a>) “But it wasn’t called, so it wasn’t a foul.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Looked like a foul. But it wasn't called, so it wasn't a foul."</p><p>Jason Kidd on Derrick White's block on P.J. Washington 👀<a href="https://t.co/w6FA0O8dHR">pic.twitter.com/w6FA0O8dHR</a> <a href="https://t.co/F1AHhsgMXY">https://t.co/F1AHhsgMXY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1800003386240270407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Mavericks had their chances to steal Game 2</b></h2><p>Assuming the L2M Report confirms the 2011 NBA champion’s suspicions, it will be interesting to see how he and his team respond. If PJ Washington was sent to the free throw line, Dallas could have cut the deficit to three points with 50 ticks remaining on the clock. Much like Kidd is implying, though, there is no sense in considering hypothetical scenarios.</p><p>Besides, the Mavs squandered plenty of chances and lacked in multiple areas en route to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-dallas-takeaways-game-2-celtics-nba-finals">this Game 2 defeat</a>. Simply put, they left points on the board that could have rendered any controversial no-call invalid. Dallas went just 16-of-24 from the charity stripe (66.7 percent), while Boston drained all but one of its 20 free throw attempts.</p><p>After closely examining the box score and reflecting on the eye test, one is likely to determine that such a disparity proved to be the ultimate dagger to the Mavericks’ winning prospects. They also caught fire a bit late in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics held them to 47 points in the second half. Luka Doncic finished with another triple-double (32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, 11 rebounds and 11 assists), but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-admission-game-2-celtics-nba-finals">Kyrie Irving failed to post</a> the noteworthy effort his squad needed from him.</p><p>Although Jayson Tatum continued to struggle with his shooting stroke (6-of-22), he dished 12 dimes and grabbed 12 boards. Jrue Holiday picked up the offensive slack with a magnificent night– 26 points on the strength of a 78.6 field goal percentage and 11 rebounds–, and Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each stamped their mark on the matchup on both ends of the floor.</p><p>Officiating notwithstanding, Dallas incurred too many self-inflicted wounds against a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-ex-warriors-gm-take-mvp-nba-finals">team of Boston’s caliber</a>. The Western Conference champions will have to tighten it up in Game 3 in order to prevent the outcome from potentially being affected by external factors.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Jason Kidd vocal on controversial PJ Washington play vs. Celtics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/pj-washington-nba-finals-points-per-game-prediction-odds');   ga('set', 'title', 'PJ Washington NBA Finals points per game prediction, odds');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PJ-Washington-NBA-Finals-points-per-game-prediction-odds.jpg"></figure><h1>PJ Washington NBA Finals points per game prediction, odds</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-06T08:53:31-07:00">June 6th, 8:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-06T08:58:11-07:00">June 6th, 8:58am</time><address><a>RB Hayek</a>Robert B. Hayek has been writing about sports for over a decade and is currently a member of ClutchPoints' Betting team. In addition, he is also a published author of thriller novels, available on Amazon. Rob went 182-171-1 against the spread (208-147-1 overall) over his first fIVE months picking games in 2024.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks will battle the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. We’re here to share our NBA Finals odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting" rel="noopener">series</a> and make a PJ Washington points-per-game prediction and pick.</p><p>Washington has a chance to make an impact in this series while everyone else is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/luka-doncic-nba-finals-points-per-game-prediction-odds" rel="noopener">focused on Luka Doncic</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kyrie-irving-nba-finals-points-per-game-prediction-odds" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a>. After spending the first 4.5 seasons of his career with the Charlotte Hornets, he came to the Mavericks in a trade. Ultimately, this is the time to shine, and Washington looks to capitalize on it.</p><p>But how will he do in his first chance under the bright lights? Will he become the player that comes out of nowhere? Or will he fold? We will look at how he has done in these playoffs and examine his odds to hit the target,</p><p><i><b>Here are the <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals" rel="noopener">NBA Finals odds</a>, courtesy of FanDuel. </b></i></p><h2><b>NBA Finals Odds: PJ Washington Points Per Game Odds</b></h2><p>Over: 11.5 points (-132)</p><p>Under: 11.5 points (+104)</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(click for a free trial)*</a></b></i></p><h2><b>Why PJ Washington Will Hit the Over</b></h2><p>Washington has averaged 13.6 points per game throughout the NBA Playoffs. That right there should tell you why he will hit the over. Amazingly, he has gotten better as the playoffs have rolled along.</p><p>While he did not have an explosive series against the Los Angeles Clippers, he did have some great moments. First, he had 18 points while shooting 5 for 10 in Game 2. Washington also added 14 points while shooting 4 for 9 in Game 5. Yes, he averaged just 13 points per game in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but he also managed to show up when it mattered in the end.</p><p>Washington took his game to the next level in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After scoring just 10 points in Game 1, he managed 29 points in Game 2 while shooting 11 for 18.</p><p>His ability to create the perfect shot helped torpedo the Mavericks to a victory to split the series before heading back to Dallas. Then, Washington replicated the effort in Game 3 with 27 points while shooting 11 for 23, including 5 for 12 from beyond the arc. Washington had 21 points while shooting 7 for 19, including 5 for 11 from the triples in Game 4. Overall, he finished with 17.6 points per game.</p><p>But Washington was not as consistent against the Wolves. Regardless, he still managed to hit his target, starting with Game 1, when he scored 13 points while shooting 4 for 10. Washington then scored 16 points in Game 3 while shooting 5 for 10. Likewise, he helped the effort in Game 5 with 12 points on 4 for 9 shooting.</p><p>While the Celtics will likely focus on Doncic and Iriving, Washington may be a threat they don’t see coming. Furthermore, that focus on Doncic and Irving may open up the floor for Washington to get some extra opportunities and score some buckets.</p><p>Washington will hit the over because he has consistently improved throughout the postseason and hit his target every time. Additionally, the extra focus on the star players may benefit him.</p><h2><b>Why PJ Washington Will Hit the Under</b></h2><p>But Washington will probably have to overcome one of the best defenders in the NBA, Jrue Holiday. Significantly, Holiday has not faced anyone who comes close to him. No one on the Clippers, Thunder, or Wolves had a defender that compares to him, which may make things difficult.</p><p>But looking back at his performance throughout the playoffs, there were some instances where he disappeared. Notably, he scored just two points in Game 5 against the Clippers while shooting a pathetic 1 for 7.</p><p>It happened again in the Western Conference Semifinals when he managed just nine points in Game 6 while shooting 2 for 6. Significantly, this came after managing just 10 points in Game 5 while shooting 4 for 9.</p><p>Washington went under 11 points twice in the Western Conference Finals. First, he managed just 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting in Game 2. Washington then had 10 points in Game 4 while shooting 3 for 13, including 2 for 9. Therefore, there were some games where he just couldn’t get things going.</p><p>Take a grand look at his overall game. Curiously, he is very <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/derrick-white-nba-finals-points-per-game-prediction-odds" rel="noopener">similar to Derrick White</a> in that he lives and dies off the three-point shot. With Holiday draped on him, it might be challenging to hit those shots from beyond the arc. This is where Washington needs to be pesky and spring open. Possibly, they could use a package where Doncic is the bait, and it forces the Celtics to converge on him to give Washington some chances. Yet, the Celtics may pose the worst threat possible in preventing that from happening.</p><p>Washington may hit the under because he will face the toughest defender he has faced this season. Moreover, it may affect his ability to hit from downtown.</p><h2><b>Final PJ Washington Points Per Game Prediction</b></h2><p>Washington has become a reliable third option. Additionally, he is on a really well-coached team. That means they will call some good plays for him, which may enable him to escape Holiday. No, he will not go off for 30 points. But Washington may do enough to cover the odds. Consider the fact that he has averaged over 11.5 points in all three series. Subsequently, we find no issues with him doing so again as he averages anywhere between 12-13 points per game.</p><p><i><b><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting" rel="noopener">Click here</a> for more betting news and predictions</b></i></p><p><b>Final PJ Washington Points Per Game Prediction: Over: 11.5 points (-132)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

PJ Washington NBA Finals points per game prediction, odds

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-dallas-dirk-nowitzki-pj-washington-2024-nba-finals');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki credits PJ Washington for 2024 NBA Finals run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dirk-Nowitzki-credits-PJ-Washington-for-Mavericks-run-to-the-finals-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki credits PJ Washington for 2024 NBA Finals run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-06T07:53:47-07:00">June 6th, 7:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-06T07:53:47-07:00">June 6th, 7:53am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks are set to begin their NBA Finals series against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving understandably <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-leading-dallas">receive no shortage of credit</a> for leading Dallas to the NBA Finals, but Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QltPs1MrdtI&amp;list=PL5598MG8BefPKfu-vcpvGtejzQMbUg1bJ&amp;t=878s" rel="noopener">understands how important</a> the trades for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford have been.</p><p>“Well I think who is at hand is PJ Washington, I think that deal really put us over the top,” Nowitzki said on The Big Podcast with Shaq. “I think we had a good team before, but getting PJ and Gaff (Gafford) at the trading deadline was an unbelievable move by the management. It gave us some depth, gave us length, and PJ has been incredible, and I think in Charlotte maybe at times, I don’t know if they wanted him to score too much or I’m not really sure what the problem was but here he’s just a perfect fit and match for the guys.</p><p>“He can make a shot, he brings toughness, and he brings defense and length, so he’s been super fun, and he’s here from Dallas, you know he grew up in Frisco.”</p><h2><b>PJ Washington making difference in postseason</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PJ-Washington-shoots-against-Timberwolves.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Every team that makes a run in the NBA postseason features depth. Additionally, the stars are often accompanied by players who have big postseasons. Last season, we saw Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray lead the Denver Nuggets to a championship. But they certainly had help from players such as Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.</p><p>PJ Washington, along with Daniel Gafford, Derrick Jones Jr., Dereck Lively II and others have played important roles alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.</p><p>Washington has emerged as a third scoring option for the Mavs. He is averaging 13.6 points per game on 43.2 percent field goal and 36.3 percent three-point shooting across 17 games in the 2024 postseason. He’s also recording 6.7 rebounds per outing.</p><p>Of course, it goes beyond the stats for PJ Washington. His “<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-paul-george-clippers-nba-playoffs">stand on business</a>” pose in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers went viral. “Stand on business” has become the Mavericks’ motto in a sense.</p><p>Washington plays hard on both ends of the floor, brings energy, and has helped the Mavericks without question.</p><h2><b>Washington’s potential impact in Mavericks-Celtics NBA Finals clash</b></h2><p>Derrick White has been a difference-maker for the Celtics. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown lead the way, but White’s impact cannot be denied.</p><p>Washington and White will likely be the X-factors in the series. They are both talented players, who, despite not being considered superstars, can swing games one way or another.</p><p>The Mavs will need Washington to perform well. If he struggles and White performs well, Boston will receive an automatic advantage. But Mavericks fans should remain confident in Washington. He has displayed the ability to play well under the bright lights.</p><p>PJ Washington’s performance will go a long way towards determining how the Mavericks will fare in the 2024 NBA Finals. Game 1 is scheduled for 8:30 PM EST on Thursday night in Boston.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki credits PJ Washington for 2024 NBA Finals run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-did-pj-washington-just-take-a-shot-at-hornets-while-celebrating-game-5-win');   ga('set', 'title', 'Did PJ Washington just take a shot at Hornets while celebrating Mavericks’ Game 5 win?');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Did-PJ-Washington-just-take-a-shot-at-Hornets-while-celebrating-Mavericks-Game-5-win.jpg"></figure><h1>Did PJ Washington just take a shot at Hornets while celebrating Mavericks’ Game 5 win?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-30T22:45:02-07:00">May 30th, 10:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-30T22:45:02-07:00">May 30th, 10:45pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On February 8, 2024, the Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-dallas-trade-three-point">pulled off a trade</a> that sent Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for PJ Washington and two second-round picks. Little did everyone know at the time that it would eventually bear fruit for both Washington and the Mavericks in the form of an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-reaction-nba-finals">NBA Finals appearance</a> after they took care of business in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 124-103 victory.</p><p>Even Washington couldn’t seem to believe his fortune; he went from a <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/hornets-record-from-october-2023-to-february-8-2024">Hornets team that was 10-40</a> at the time to a Mavericks team that has Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. And in the aftermath of their Game 5 win over the Timberwolves, Washington took to Instagram live to <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1796388266163208199" rel="noopener">celebrate his serendipity</a> while appearing to take a shot at his former team in the process. Even Daniel Gafford couldn’t hide his joy after the Mavericks rescued him from the woeful Washington Wizards on the same fateful day.</p><p>“Bottom to the top. Tell them Gaff, we went from the bottom to the top, n***a. From the bottom to the top!” Washington exclaimed.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“From the bottom to the top!” </p><p>PJ Washington is feeling the Mavs' WCF win 😅</p><p>(via pjwashington/IG)<a href="https://t.co/sf7t8b89Iy">pic.twitter.com/sf7t8b89Iy</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1796388266163208199?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Now, PJ Washington still has some plausible deniability when it comes to those words. But his former college teammate in Kentucky, Tyler Herro, threw all that out of the window with a <a href="https://x.com/HeatvsHaters/status/1796391674081640510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1796391674081640510%7Ctwgr%5Eb7f899f1214ce571d3f217f2e48a3b840d0e20aa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php" rel="noopener">hilarious comment</a> that spurred an even more <a href="https://x.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1796389009150947457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1796389009150947457%7Ctwgr%5E04cf13ada0d9609fb27e29e9bcad393d627a405d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php" rel="noopener">hilarious response</a> from the Mavericks forward.</p><p>“how you go from Charlotte to the finals, you really made it out the mud with this one,” Herro commented on Washington’s live stream.</p><p>“How you go from Charlotte to the NBA Finals? Tell ’em again! How you go from Charlotte to the NBA Finals?” the Mavericks star said while cackling non-stop.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tyler Herro on PJ Washington’s live </p><p>“how you go from Charlotte to the finals, you really made it out the mud with this one” 😭 <a href="https://t.co/uI9NIQTYWz">pic.twitter.com/uI9NIQTYWz</a></p><p>— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeatvsHaters/status/1796391674081640510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">P.J. Washington:</p><p>“How you go from Charlotte to the Finals?” 😂😂</p><p>(h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/AhnFireDigital?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AhnFireDigital</a>)</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/Elbq31ffe5">pic.twitter.com/Elbq31ffe5</a></p><p>— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1796389009150947457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Here’s to hoping that the luck of all the readers of this article right now turns like PJ Washington’s did beginning on February 8, 2024. The question now is whether or not the Mavericks can seal the deal to win their second championship in franchise history — cementing quite a turn of events for both Washington and Daniel Gafford.</p><h2><b>Mavericks rescue PJ Washington (and Daniel Gafford) from NBA hell</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/PJ_Washington_Jr_Daniel_Gafford_celebrate.webp"></figure><p>As mentioned earlier, the Hornets had a 20 percent win rate this past season when they traded PJ Washington away to the Mavericks at the trade deadline. But it’s not like the Hornets have had much success over the course of Washington’s four and a half-year stay in Charlotte.</p><p>The Hornets had a bit of success during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, but even that is hard to qualify as such. They made the play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022, but didn’t exactly give a good account of themselves. Entering the tournament as the 10-seed on both occasions, they proceeded to lose both games by a combined 56 points.</p><p>It has only gone downhill for the Hornets since then, with LaMelo Ball being unable to shake of the injury bug. And then the Mavericks came calling for PJ Washington, a player they showed interest in signing during the 2023 offseason, and Dallas, as a result, got itself a fearless two-way forward who’s more than capable of making big shots in the fourth quarter.</p><p>But Washington wasn’t the only one to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-daniel-gafford-dallas-thunder-series">escape the basketball version of hell</a>. The Hornets might be bad, but at least they have a franchise cornerstone in Ball. Brandon Miller has shown flashes of being a future star as well. Meanwhile, Daniel Gafford was playing for perhaps the team with the bleakest outlook in the entire association — the Wizards.</p><p>The Wizards, apart from perhaps Deni Avdija, have little in the way of young building blocks. Kyle Kuzma might be the next to go, Jordan Poole’s stock has dropped precipitously, while Bilal Coulibaly, despite being a solid player for his age, is yet to show an advanced offensive game.</p><p>For the Mavericks, Gafford has been everything they’ve needed and more to form an athletic center group with rookie Dereck Lively II. Gafford works best with a dynamic floor general alongside him, as seen back in 2021 when the Wizards made the playoffs with Russell Westbrook in town. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have brought out the best in him, and the rim protection he provides ensures that the Mavs have a strong defensive backbone for 48 minutes.</p><p>The thing about PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford is that they’re still both so young (25 years old) and they’re both under contract for two more years. Nonetheless, the job is not yet done. Their fortunes may have taken a 180-degree turn (or 360 degrees, if you ask Jason Kidd), but the Mavericks have one more hurdle to clear, and that is a Boston Celtics team that stands in the way of their quest to win it all.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Did PJ Washington just take a shot at Hornets while celebrating Mavericks’ Game 5 win?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-message-nba-finals-game-4');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ PJ Washington issues fiery message ahead of possible NBA Finals clinching Game 4');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washingtons-fiery-message-ahead-of-possible-NBA-Finals-clinching-Game-4.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ PJ Washington issues fiery message ahead of possible NBA Finals clinching Game 4</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-28T11:52:22-07:00">May 28th, 11:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-28T11:52:22-07:00">May 28th, 11:52am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-2-word-message-kyrie-irving-after-dallas-takes-3-0-lead-in-west-finals">can clinch an NBA Finals appearance</a> with a victory on Tuesday in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Dallas currently holds a 3-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but PJ Washington <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1795485521226920289" rel="noopener">made it clear</a> while speaking to reporters after shoot-around on Tuesday that he does not want to return to Minnesota for a possible Game 5.</p><p>“No sir, I definitely don’t (want to return to Minnesota),” Washington said. “But we have to pay attention to this game, be locked in.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PJ Washington does not want to go back to Minnesota. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavericks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavericks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneforDallas?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneforDallas</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jf3MI4vDtG">pic.twitter.com/Jf3MI4vDtG</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1795485521226920289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Washington knows the Timberwolves will have a lot of energy in Game 4 with their season on the line. The Mavs breakout playoff star further discussed the plan for Dallas on Tuesday.</p><p>“For us, we gotta match their energy for a full 48 minutes and be ready to play,” Washington said.</p><p>Dallas has endured a long journey to get to this moment. They had ups and downs during the regular season, and they have had to defeat the No. 4 and No. 1 seeds in the Western Conference just to get to where they are now. However, Dallas is just a game away from upsetting the No. 3 seed as well and officially clinching their spot in the NBA Finals.</p><p>The leadership of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic has proven to be crucial throughout the postseason.</p><h2><b>Timberwolves searching for answers vs. Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mavs-Luka-Doncic-and-Kyrie-Irving-embrace-in-Game-3.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Karl-Anthony Towns also spoke to reporters on Tuesday. He addressed a number of topics, including Minnesota’s <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1795516047350727113" rel="noopener">gameplan against</a> Irving and Doncic.</p><p>“I think that, you know, if we’re gonna do anything differently… I think our gameplan is just not let them score,” Towns said. “I think that gameplan we had of them scoring was not gonna workout well and it hasn’t. We’re gonna just do a better job this time around of making it more difficult for them to put the ball in the basket.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Karl-Anthony Towns on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Timberwolves?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Timberwolves</a> gameplan against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavericks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavericks</a> Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving</p><p>“Our gameplan is just not let them score… I think that gameplan we had of them scoring was not gonna workout well and it hasn’t. We’re gonna just do a better job.” <a href="https://t.co/3fUNwqOyCK">pic.twitter.com/3fUNwqOyCK</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1795516047350727113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Containing Doncic and Irving would help the Timberwolves. It should be noted that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-playing-game-4-timberwolves-injury-update">Luka is questionable for Game 4</a> as of this story’s writing.</p><p>Dallas is a difficult team to battle, though, because even if one of their stars struggles or misses a game they have another star waiting to lead the way. And the Mavs’ depth has improved this season, with players such as PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Josh Green all stepping up.</p><p>Lively, who is dealing with a neck sprain, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/is-mavericks-dereck-lively-ii-playing-vs-timberwolves-latest-game-4-injury-update">not expected to play on Tuesday</a>. Maxi Kleber is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-maxi-kleber-return-game-4-timberwolves-injury-update">trending in a positive direction</a> and has a chance to play in Game 4 for the first time since the Clippers series, however.</p><p>The Mavericks, as Washington said, are hoping to take care of business in this contest. Sure, if they lose it would not be the end of the world. A 3-1 lead would still be manageable to say the least. But the Mavericks have no intention of giving the Timberwolves any hope in the Western Conference Finals.</p><p>Game 4’s tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 PM EST on Tuesday night in Dallas.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ PJ Washington issues fiery message ahead of possible NBA Finals clinching Game 4

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-dallas-underdog-timberwolves');   ga('set', 'title', 'PJ Washington isn’t buying Mavericks ‘underdog’ narrative vs. Timberwolves');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Mavericks-news-PJ-Washington-isnt-buying-Dallas-underdog-narrative-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>PJ Washington isn’t buying Mavericks ‘underdog’ narrative vs. Timberwolves</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-21T14:58:47-07:00">May 21st, 2:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-21T15:05:20-07:00">May 21st, 3:05pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — The Minnesota Timberwolves <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-why-draymond-green-minnesota-mavericks-western-conference-finals">are the favorite</a> according to many analysts heading into the Western Conference Finals. All season long, though, the Dallas Mavericks have made it clear that they do not care what anyone has to say. Dallas believes in their ability to win games and they have consistently upset the odds. PJ Washington <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1793030099106758684" rel="noopener">does not even consider</a> the Mavs to be the underdog heading into the Western Conference Finals.</p><p>“I mean, I don’t feel like we’re the underdog at all,” Washington said on Tuesday after practice. “We’re both in the Western Conference Finals for a reason. I don’t know what people are thinking but for us we’re confident in our abilities… We can’t wait to go to Minnesota.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PJ Washington doesn’t feel like the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavericks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavericks</a> are the underdog vs. Timberwolves. </p><p>“I don’t feel like we’re the underdog at all. We’re both in the WCF for a reason. I don’t know what people are thinking… we’re confident in our abilities… We can’t wait to go to Minnesota.” <a href="https://t.co/ntcBXUUkDj">pic.twitter.com/ntcBXUUkDj</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1793030099106758684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Mavs’ confidence has proved to be crucial throughout the postseason. Additionally, Dallas’ team chemistry has played a major role in their overall success.</p><p>Rookie Dereck Lively II addressed the Mavs’ ability to overcome the odds on Monday after practice.</p><p>“Nothing new,” Lively said of the Timberwolves being favored over the Mavs by a number of sports pundits. “No matter if you look at people thinking whose going to win this series, no matter if you look at Luka’s MVP race, you look at me Second-Team All-Rookie, it doesn’t matter where they’re going to put us… No matter where they’re gonna put us we’re gonna just try to do our best to claw our way out, making noise and just show the world who we are.”</p><p>Others may say that the Mavericks are the underdog, but Dallas clearly does not feel that way.</p><h2><b>PJ Washington’s resilient mindset has been the key for Mavericks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washington-during-Thunder-Mavericks-playoff-series.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are superstars. Dallas has a deep roster that is capable of performing well on both ends of the floor. However, PJ Washington’s resilient mindset has played a crucial role in the NBA playoffs.</p><p>The Mavs were seemingly reenergized when Washington first <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-paul-george-clippers-nba-playoffs">did his now-viral pose</a> against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first-round of the playoffs. Dallas went on to defeat LA before earning another series victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.</p><p>Now they are preparing for a clash that projects to be incredibly competitive with the Timberwolves. Minnesota also plays with plenty of confidence, but the Mavs will not back down.</p><p>This Mavericks squad plays with motivation. Washington’s mindset has given them an unstoppable attitude that will be necessary moving forward. He is a nice guy, but Washington is all business when he is on the floor.</p><p>“I think we’re all excited obviously to still be playing at this point in the season,” Washington said of the Mavericks mindset ahead of the series. “Just a lot of excitement and we’re ready to go.”</p><p>Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals is scheduled for 8:30 PM EST in Minnesota as Dallas looks to jump out to a 1-0 series lead. Winning at least one of the first two road games would be huge for the Mavs to say the least.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

PJ Washington isn’t buying Mavericks ‘underdog’ narrative vs. Timberwolves

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-nba-playoffs-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ PJ Washington keeps it 100% real on playoff success');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washington-keeps-it-100-real-on-playoff-success.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ PJ Washington keeps it 100% real on playoff success</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-13T11:01:52-07:00">May 13th, 11:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-13T11:01:52-07:00">May 13th, 11:01am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — PJ Washington is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-game-3-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving">establishing himself as a star</a> in the NBA playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks knew he was a versatile player who featured offensive potential when they acquired him ahead of the trade deadline. Washington, however, has scored 29 points and 27 points in back-to-back huge <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-daniel-gafford-dallas-nba-playoffs">playoff victories for Dallas</a>.</p><p>Washington is not changing anything amid his recent hot stretch, however.</p><p>“For me, it’s the same comfort level,” Washington <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1790072300978495994" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday morning after the Mavericks’ shoot-around. “I’m just getting shots now. Credit to my teammates for finding me.”</p><p>The Thunder entered the series prepared to focus on Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Washington, though, has stepped up in a major way over the past two games. Oklahoma City may look to make some changes defensively. Washington is not sure how the Thunder will approach their gameplan, though.</p><p>“I’m not sure what they’re gonna do,” Washington said. “I mean, I’m trying to keep it simple. Like I said, just take open ones, be aggressive on the offensive end as well.”</p><h2><b>PJ </b>Washington playing crucial role for Mavericks in NBA playoffs</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washington-dunks-over-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Washington is a versatile player as aforementioned. He can guard multiple positions, shoot the three-ball, and finish at the basket.</p><p>His scoring prowess has been discussed on a consistent basis over the past week. However, Washington knows that his ability to contribute in multiple facets of the game is important.</p><p>“For me, I felt like I could come in and contribute in any way,” Washington said. “Just being versatile is my biggest thing. I want to be able to guard them as a player and be able to make shots when I have to.”</p><p>Oklahoma City is searching for answers when it comes to containing Washington. It is quite difficult given the fact that Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, two of the best players in the NBA, also happen to be on the floor.</p><p>On Monday, Thunder rookie center Chet Holmgren <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1790066497919885799" rel="noopener">addressed</a> Washington’s recent performance.</p><p>“We just have to understand that he’s playing loose with a lot of confidence right now,” Holmgren said. “You know he’s making those shots. We can’t just allow him to get to what’s working. We gotta take that away and make things tough on him.”</p><h2><b>Mavs looking to take 3-1 series lead</b></h2><p>The Mavericks can take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a victory on Monday in Game 4. Dallas leads the series 2-1, but they understand that the Thunder are going to be prepared for Game 4.</p><p>It’s a crucial affair for both teams, but it is certainly a must-win for Oklahoma City. Dallas will probably view the game in similar fashion. After all, the idea of heading back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 with the series tied at two games apiece surely does not sound appealing to the Mavs.</p><p>Game 4 projects to be another competitive affair. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 PM EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ PJ Washington keeps it 100% real on playoff success

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-game-3-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks forward PJ Washington’s Game 3 scoring outburst draws Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving admissions');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washingtons-Game-3-scoring-outburst-draws-Luka-Doncic-Kyrie-Irving-admissions.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks forward PJ Washington’s Game 3 scoring outburst draws Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving admissions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-11T18:09:52-07:00">May 11th, 6:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-11T18:09:52-07:00">May 11th, 6:09pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>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.</p><p>Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both scored 22 points in the game, but it was PJ Washington who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-admission-after-game-3-win-vs-thunder">led the charge</a> with 27 points. Washington went 11-23 from the field and 5-12 from beyond the arc.</p><p>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 <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1789426191914430497" rel="noopener">made the difference in the game</a>.</p><p>“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.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I’m just trying to take my time and knock them down.”</p><p>PJ Washington speaks after his 27-point outing led the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavericks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavericks</a> to a huge Game 3 win. <a href="https://t.co/6H3wEU59UN">pic.twitter.com/6H3wEU59UN</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1789426191914430497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>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.</p><p>“Good… What did he make, five threes today? Amazing, being aggressive, shooting with confidence,” Doncic said of Washington’s performance. “We believe in him.”</p><p>“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.</p><p>“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.”</p><h2><b>Mavericks’ “next man up” mentality</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washington-celebrates-during-Thunder-Mavericks-Game-3.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>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.</p><p>Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was asked about the team’s performance amid Doncic’s injury concern.</p><p>“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.</p><p>“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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-thunder-mark-daigneault-nba-playoffs">The Mavericks are confident right now</a>. Oklahoma City will not go away quietly, but Dallas is in a good position heading into Game 4.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks forward PJ Washington’s Game 3 scoring outburst draws Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving admissions

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-pj-washington-admission-after-game-3-win-vs-thunder');   ga('set', 'title', 'PJ Washington’s admission after Mavericks’ Game 3 win vs Thunder will earn him more fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PJ-Washingtons-admission-after-Game-3-win-vs-Thunder-will-earn-him-more-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>PJ Washington’s admission after Mavericks’ Game 3 win vs Thunder will earn him more fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-11T17:38:55-07:00">May 11th, 5:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-11T17:38:55-07:00">May 11th, 5:38pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-thunder-mark-daigneault-nba-playoffs">Mavericks stole Game 3</a> away from the Oklahoma City Thunder and now lead the series 2-1. Both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving balled out as usual. However, it was PJ Washington that turned out to be the hero in this contest. After the game, Washington opened up about his big performance.</p><p>PJ Washington has been more of a role player throughout his career but has emerged as a top producer ever since being traded to Dallas. It’s been a long time coming but the Mavericks’ forward <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1789426018312196553" rel="noopener">claims he’s been</a> “waiting” to find this type of success in the NBA, per Dorothy J. Gentry of NABJ Sports.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PJ Washington Jr. “I’ve been waiting to get here my whole career.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/PlblIx3Kvc">pic.twitter.com/PlblIx3Kvc</a></p><p>— Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1789426018312196553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Washington has seemingly found a role with the Mavericks and looks like a solid third option behind Doncic and Irving. The Thunder mistakenly left him open throughout Game 3 and it sounds like Kyrie Irving is <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1789448477883158553" rel="noopener">loving every second of it</a>, according to ClutchPoints’ very own Joey Mistretta.</p><p>“He’s open for a reason, right, that was part of their game plan. So we have to make them pay for that… Keep that right elbow tucked when he’s shooting those threes because it looks beautiful.”</p><p>The veteran power forward finished the game as the Mavericks’ leading scorer. He ended up with 27 points, six rebounds, and two assists. He shot 5-12 from three-point range, making him the most efficient scorer for Dallas from beyond the arch. If he keeps this up then Dallas could potentially upset the Thunder in the NBA Playoffs.</p><h2>How the Mavericks beat the Thunder in the NBA Playoffs</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kyrie-Irving-and-Luka-Doncic.jpg"><figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-thunder-nba-playoffs">The Mavericks are just</a> two wins away from advancing in the NBA Playoffs but the Thunder won’t go down without a fight. The good news is that Dallas has stolen home-court advantage away from Oklahoma City. Especially if they can earn a victory in Game 4. But this team is going to have to remain focused if they hope to pull off the upset.</p><p>To do that, both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic have to remain on point. They’ve both looked fantastic, especially in this series. Maintaining that consistency will go a long way in the Mavericks’ hopes of winning a title.</p><p>However, the supporting cast has to play at a high level as well. They’ve been balling out as a group throughout the postseason so far. Especially PJ Washington who looks like the third scoring option behind Irving and Doncic. But guys like Dereck Lively III and Tim Hardaway Jr. must continue playing well too.</p><p>The Mavericks have put themselves in a great position to pull off another upset. Game 4 tips off on Monday, May 13 and they have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Thunder. Look for the entire team to continue playing well as Dallas hopes to win its first championship since 2011.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
12.9	5.6	1.9	0.8	1.0

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
12.9	5.6	1.9	0.8	1.0

P.J. Washington news

P.J.
Washington news