The Dallas Mavericks’ two newest players debuted on Saturday at home against the OKC Thunder (35-17), and both contributed to a big win.
Off the bench, Daniel Gafford had 19 points, nine rebounds, and one block in just 17 minutes of play., and P.J. Washington Jr. scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds as the Mavs routed the Thunder 146-111 to win their fourth straight.
The Mavericks (30-23) got off to a great start as they outscored the Thunder 47-30 in the opening quarter. The 47-point first quarter was the highest-scoring opening quarter in franchise history.
Luka Doncic scored 18 of his 32 points in the first quarter, and Gafford added eight.
Dallas led by as many as 41 points and never trailed in this contest.
After the win, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd discussed Gafford and Washington’s contributions.
“I thought [Daniel] Gafford was great on both ends, but I thought what we’ve seen playing against Gafford is he gets every defensive rebound,” Kidd said. “I thought he did that for us this afternoon at a very, very high level. We’re going to need that. I thought defensively to come in and pick up the schemes right away was a plus. Then P.J. [Washington Jr.], I thought he just let the game come to him, and that’s what we need. I thought, again, the pace was high. We didn’t have to run anybody’s minutes up, and that was something that we talked about this afternoon. A lot of good stuff. I know I probably left something out, but great team win.”
When Gafford and Washington entered the game in the first quarter, both players received a huge ovation, which Gafford said gave him energy.
“It felt amazing,” Gafford said. “I am pretty sure P.J. [Washington Jr.] felt great also because[with] being back home, and me being so close to him. It felt like I got drafted by this team, in all honesty. It felt good stepping on the court and hearing the crowd and the cheers really fueled the energy I had throughout the game.”
Playing with Doncic and Kyrie Irving(25 points on Saturday) will get you a lot of easy looks, and according to Washington, that was the case against the Thunder.
“Everybody was telling that I was going to get a lot of open shots, but I didn’t realize it until I was out there,” he said. “Playing with Luka and Kyrie and all those guys, they made the game a lot easier for me. They did that for [Daniel] Gafford, too. Just being out here was great, and I am just glad we got the win.”
With these acquisitions, the Mavs appear to be an improved team with more depth and athleticism. It’s only one game, but Gafford and Washington look like they will fit in just fine in Dallas.
Notes:
With Luka Doncic (32-8-9) and Kyrie Irving (25-6-8), the Maverick duo has recorded more 25-5-5 games in the same game (6) than any other pair of teammates in Mavericks history, surpassing the duo of Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman who have recorded five of such instances.
With Doncic (32), Irving (25), Gafford (19), Washington (14), Maxi Kleber (12), Jaden Hardy (11), Tim Hardaway Jr, (10), the Mavericks had seven players record 10-or-more points in a game for the third time this season.
Irving recorded his 4,000th career assist at the 8:40 mark of the second quarter today against the Thunder. He becomes the 18th player in NBA history with 16,000 points, 4,000 assists and 1,600 three-pointers made.
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