Somebody had to score while Dallas waited for its headline names to wake up. On Friday that job belonged to P.J. Washington.
Washington finished with a season-high 26 points in Dallas's 112-100 NBA Cup group win over Utah at American Airlines Center. ESPN's box shows 7-of-14 shooting, 6-of-10 from three, 6-of-7 at the line, six rebounds, one steal and one block in 33 minutes. The Associated Press reported 22 of those points before intermission, with the half closing 57-all.
He was 5 of 6 from deep and 5 of 5 at the line in that half.
Dallas moved to 5-4 overall and 2-0 in Cup play. Utah dropped to 1-8 with a seventh straight loss, the AP wrote.
First-half ballast
Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving managed only six points on 3-of-17 shooting through two quarters, the Mavericks' site said, leaving Washington and the second-chance work to keep the game from tilting. Coach Dusty May pointed at those possessions afterward. "Because of the effort plays, we were able to hang around," May said. "Those plays came from P.J. Washington and Morez Johnson Jr."
Washington's sixth three later helped Dallas hold a double-digit lead through the fourth, the AP noted. The early volume mattered more: without his first-half 22, the third-quarter runaway never starts from level ground.
Then the stars take the baton
Tied at 70 midway through the third, Flagg and Irving sparked the breakaway, the club wrote, turning a tight game into a double-digit cushion that never slipped under 10 in the fourth. Flagg finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists; Irving added 14 after a 1-of-11 start, per the AP. Flagg scored 17 after halftime.
