‘Doing Wonders For Me’: P.J. Washington Credits Dallas Mavericks Assistant Rob Fodor After 22-Point First Half Against Utah Jazz

DALLAS — P.J. Washington made 5 of his 6 3-point attempts in the first half Friday night and scored 22 points before halftime. He finished with 26 points and 6 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 112-100 at American Airlines Center.

Washington entered the game averaging 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 30.8% from 3-point range through eight games. He went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc Friday.

He has been working on his shot with Mavericks assistant and shooting coach Rob Fodor, including at Dallas’ shootaround in San Antonio on Wednesday.

“It’s been huge for me,” Washington said. “He’s done a lot with my shots so far, so I just trust everything he’s been telling me, and he’s been doing wonders for me so far.”

P.J. Washington Makes 5 Of 6 3-Pointers Before Halftime

Washington’s first basket was a 23-foot 3-pointer off a Cooper Flagg pass that tied the game at 3 in the opening minute. His second put Dallas up 15-10 with 7:22 left in the first quarter.

He played all 12 minutes of the second quarter and scored 16 points in it, going 4-of-5 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. A 3-pointer off a Santi Aldama pass with 7:06 left cut Utah’s lead to 42-40. Two more, with 3:22 and 2:31 left, pushed Dallas ahead 54-49.

With 1:02 left in the half, Washington finished an alley-oop from Max Christie and made the free throw for a 57-53 lead. Flagg assisted four of his six 3-pointers.

“When anybody has a hot hand, you just want to feed them,” Washington explained. “So that goes with anybody on the team. Everybody. I mean, when you get the feeling, it just kind of, you feel you want the ball to come to you, and you just want to shoot it. So it just felt like that to me.”

Washington also had 5 defensive rebounds, a steal, and a block, and he finished plus-9.

“Just try to be the glue guy for everybody,” Washington said. “Just try to clean up everybody’s messes and just make everything stick.”

After halftime, Washington went 1-of-7 from the field. His lone make was a 3-pointer off a Flagg pass with 5:21 left in the fourth quarter that put Dallas ahead 105-91. He has had more open looks, he said, with Flagg and Kyrie Irving drawing attention.

“I don’t know how they happen. It’s just kind of like just happening like that,” Washington said. “But obviously, when you got Kyrie and Cooper, they’re gonna draw a lot of attention, and we got a lot of guys that shoot the ball. So I just try to find myself, get my feet under me, and just try to shoot with confidence.”

Dusty May, Cooper Flagg On Washington’s Shooting

Washington’s 22 first-half points topped the 21 that Morez Johnson Jr., Walter Clayton Jr., and Daniel Gafford, Dallas’ next three scorers, combined for before the break. The game was tied 57-57 at halftime, and Mavericks coach Dusty May said Dallas won the hustle plays in the first half.

“We need P.J. to be a three-point shooting force,” May said. “I mean, he’s got a beautiful shot. He’s one of those guys, we played him at the five against San Antonio. We played him at four. We played him at three when we want to go big.”

“He may have told on himself tonight. He really sat down and guarded a couple quick, fast point guards, and stayed in front of the ball and got some deflections,” May added. “So he was really, really good. I love him shooting with that amount of confidence because we need it. But overall, just a really good game by P.J., especially in the first half. Like I said, we won the hustle plays in the first half, but without his shots, we have a deficit.”

Washington took 10 of Dallas’ 32 3-point attempts. The rest of the roster went 3-of-22 from beyond the arc.

“It’s paramount because each game looks so different now,” May explained. “We have to play the game in front of us. Some nights it’s going to be up and down. Some nights it’s going to be a slugfest. Some nights we’ve got to defend three better. Whatever the case.”

“He just gives you so much versatility offensively and defensively because he’s able to get to the rim and finish. His spacing now is going to give us a whole other dimension because he’s being so aggressive shooting the three,” May continued. “So he’s just got to continue to stay hungry and get better.”

Washington has been hot, Flagg said, and Dallas needs him to keep taking those looks.

“It was great. When P.J. gets his feet set, shoots with confidence, he’s a great shooter,” Flagg said. “So he’s been hot, and we need him to keep taking those looks, keep knocking them down, and yeah, it’s great for us.”

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and moved Dallas to 5-4. The Mavericks host the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. CT.