DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks earned a crucial 123-117 victory against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. However, the Phoenix Suns also defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers by a final score of 123-112 on Friday. As a result, Phoenix remains the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference over the No. 11 seed Mavs despite both teams holding 34-37 records. The No. 10 seed, of course, represents the final NBA Play-In Tournament position.
PJ Washington helped to lead the Mavs to their win against the Pistons. After the game, Washington admitted to checking the standings “all the time” amid the Mavs’ current postseason situation.
“(Checking the standings) all the time, I mean, that’s all we can really pay attention to right now,” Washington told reporters. “With that being said, we can only take it one game at a time. We’re fighting with (the Suns)… We can’t overlook anybody obviously right now. We got to go out there and fight every second of every game.”
The Mavs have dealt with adversity this season. They have experienced change with previous trades, while injuries have played an unfortunate role throughout the campaign. Players such as Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are among the injured Mavericks at the moment.
PJ Washington has emerged as a leader amid the adversity, however. He is doing everything he can to keep his teammates’ “spirits up” amid the aforementioned adversity.
“Just being more vocal… Obviously, I’ve been on bad teams before,” Washington said of how he has developed as a leader this season. “I know how it can get real fast. Just trying to keep everybody’s spirits up, just being the guy that is vocal each and every night and just trying to lead by example as well.”
The Mavericks will look to win a second consecutive game on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets. Monday’s contest represents the first of a four-game road trip.
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