Russell Westbrook, PJ Washington ejected in chippy Mavs win

DALLAS – A few heated encounters in the fourth quarter of Dallas Mavericks‘ 101-90 Win game 3 via LA cutter on Friday night resulted in a pair of launches and rises PJ Washingtonlocal popularity.

Washington, the power forward acquired by the Mavericks at the trade deadline, was released along with the Clippers guard Russell Westbrook with 6:10 remaining.

That confrontation began with Westbrook fouling the Mavs superstar Luka Doncic by grabbing his right arm from behind and pulling hard, pulling Doncic backwards. When Doncic approached Westbrook to protest, Westbrook shoved him with his left arm. Washington and Westbrook then pushed each other before other players, coaches, officials and security prevented the fight from escalating.

“Always protect 77 at all costs,” Washington told ESPN. “So I mean obviously it was a flagrant foul and then he pushed him off, so I was right there and I had to intervene.”

Westbrook, who finished with 1 point on 0-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes, was called for two technical fouls and was ejected from a playoff game for the first time in his career. He left the American Airlines Center without speaking to the media.

“You have to stay calm,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It gets tough in the playoffs and everyone wants to play well and do well, but you have to stay calm no matter how the calls go. So we have to do better than that.” in the long run when it comes to that.”

Washington, who had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in the win, was also ejected after being whistled for a second technical foul. His first came after a confrontation with the Clippers guard Terance Mann with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

In that case, Washington immediately struck an iconic pose among the jostling players, arms crossed and staring at the Clippers’ bench.

“[Mann] It was angry when I looked at their bench, so I decided to look back at it,” Washington told ESPN. “Just came in and tried to set a tone.”

As Washington struck an exaggerated pose, Doncic stood next to him and smiled with delight. Washington kept a poker face.

“I wanted to get proper film after the game,” Washington said with a grin, using the moment as a photo opportunity.

Doncic, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists despite describing his right knee as “really stiff” after being injured late in the first half, expressed appreciation for Washington’s willingness to act as enforcer.

“It’s amazing,” Doncic said. “The things he does, he’s a team player. He helps all of us. I’m really glad to have him on my team.”

Westbrook was also penalized for a flagrant foul when he hit the Dallas wing Green Josh to the head on a fast break attempt with 8:37 remaining in the second period. He reviewed Doncic’s foul in the final minute of the first half, but officials determined that the incident did not merit any penalty.

“I’m used to it,” Doncic said of having to endure more physicality. “I just tried to stay calm and keep playing basketball.”

After the Mavs called themselves in lacked stamina in their Game 1 loss, they held the Clippers to 93 and 90 points in the past two games to take a 2-1 series lead. Dallas coach Jason Kidd called the friction that emerged in the fourth quarter typical of a physical series.

“We were all competing for every inch trying to win,” Kidd said. “This series will be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality. It’s very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what’s going on. I I think you guys did a great job protecting each other.”

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.