You don’t lay hands on Luka Dončić in Washington’s presence, and his defiant mean-mug moment from Game 3 has taken on a life of its own.
P.J. Washington is a real one for this.
Washington has been granted Mavs Folk Hero status by the fan base after Friday’s 101-90 win over the Clippers in Game 3 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series. After being ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for shoving back when Russell Westbrook shoved Luka Dončić during a dustup over Westbrook’s own outlandish foul a few seconds earlier, Washington is getting props for standing up for Dončić despite coming into the altercation with a previous technical foul already under his belt.
“Always got to protect 77 at all costs,” Washington told ESPN. “So I mean obviously it was a hard foul and then he pushed him afterward, so I was right there and I just had to step into it.”
But it wasn’t just the retaliatory shove. It was Washington’s defiant posture toward the frustrated and flailing Los Angeles Clipper that differentiated an alpha from something altogether more flimsy and weak. Washington’s mean-mug moment as Westbrook tried to continue the argument and lobby in vain that he was somehow wronged in the proceedings put Westbrook on the business end of the interaction.
Strike, by Sue Coe, 1980, by @bcburgers https://t.co/ta8FgKIC3f pic.twitter.com/KTO4dhlqLt
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) April 27, 2024
Both were kicked out of the game as a result, but there was a clear winner and loser in this exchange. One man flailed and whined while the other stood resolute on the business of the moment, staring daggers into no one in particular as if above it all. To put his stamp on a playoff game in this manner, in defense of Dončić and in defiance of the pesky Westbrook, has vaulted Washington up the pecking order of Dallas Mavericks folk heroes. At this point Washington has to be somewhere north of Rodrigue Beaubois and rapidly approaching Doe Doe territory, wherever those records are kept.
“P.J.’s been great. He’s not afraid of anything,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said after Game 3. “He’s competing — we’re all competing for each inch to find a way to win. This series is going to be more mental as it goes on because of the physicality. The play is very physical but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp, and we have to understand what’s taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another.”
That’s a very coach-speak way to float tacit approval for Washington’s defense of Dallas’ superstar, but it’s also something to look out for in the next few games. If things start to go the Mavs’ way in this series, the Clippers have several guys on their roster, like Westbrook, who could lash out at any moment. Washington’s response was appropriate in Game 3, in part because the Mavs were already in position to win the game. It’ll be important for key players on the Dallas roster to keep their heads in similar moments as the Mavs try to gain a firmer grip on the series.
Kyrie Irving had this to say about the impending chippiness of the rest of the opening-round series:
“You just have to pick and choose battles wisely, know who you can get under a bit mentally, just focus on the big picture at the end of it. Overall, don’t get kicked out of the game, but if you are, just make it’s worth your while, make sure we’re winning. That covers a lot of mistakes when you win. I think things are going to happen throughout the rest of this series, so we just got to be prepared. A lot of provoking going on, it’s just the chippiness of the NBA game, it’s just basketball and stretches get a bit tough.”
Washington himself posted the now-famous shot of himself standing cross-armed with a crowd of Mavericks, Clippers and officials gathering behind him on Instagram, and captioned the post, “I’m Mr ain’t goin.”
I captured this moment from PJ Washington…. He is that dude #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5heJCQ9WH8
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) April 27, 2024
Name this album for @PJWashington! #MFFL #MavsTwitter pic.twitter.com/z53LYt27LS
— Buckets & Beyond (@BucketsBeyond) April 27, 2024
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