P.J. Washington’s Clutch Shooting Lifts Mavericks Past Pelicans in Thrilling Victory: 'We Should Have Won Last Time'

Mavericks outlast Pelicans 137-136 as P.J. Washington delivers 25 points and four clutch threes in the fourth quarter, while Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, and Klay Thompson provide key contributions.

Photo: Dallas Mavericks

NEW ORLEANS — The Dallas Mavericks (26-22) secured a thrilling 137-136 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (26-21) at the Smoothie King Center, avenging their previous controversial loss in New Orleans. P.J. Washington led the way with 25 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, hitting four clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Dallas close out a back-and-forth battle.

Just two weeks ago, the Mavericks fell 119-116 to the Pelicans in the same building, a game that ended with a missed goaltending call on Trey Murphy III’s block of Spencer Dinwiddie’s potential game-winning layup. Dallas executed in crunch time this time despite a buzzer-beating three by C.J. McCollum that cut the final margin to just one.

“We wanted to come down here and get a win,” Washington said. “We felt like we should have won last time but let the game get away from us. It didn’t happen this time.”