Dallas made nine 3-pointers Friday. P.J. Washington accounted for six. The Mavericks beat Utah 112-100, but the perimeter shooting around Washington supplied far less than the final result might suggest. His accuracy was exceptional; the team still needed to win in other ways.
The Mavericks did not need a balanced 3-point distribution to beat the Jazz. They did need several other answers, and they found them. Dallas won the rebounding battle 55-41, scored 60 points on 30-of-61 shooting inside the arc and made 25 of 31 free throws. Utah, by comparison, managed 42 points on 2-pointers and made 13 of 14 at the line.
Washington was the obvious headline because he was so far ahead of his teammates. He scored a season-high 26 points, shot 7 of 14 overall and went 6 of 10 from deep. His 24-foot 3 with 5:21 left, assisted by Cooper Flagg, made the score 105-91 and helped keep Utah from turning the fourth quarter into a negotiation.
It was a high-value shot from a player who had already supplied two-thirds of Dallas’ made 3-pointers.
The other Mavericks combined to shoot 3 of 22 from long range. That is a one-night concentration problem, though not necessarily a season-long shooting diagnosis. A 6-of-10 performance can happen without becoming a reliable team formula; so can a 3-of-22 night without defining every player involved.
The concern is the gap between Washington’s production and everyone else’s. Dallas made 9 of 32 from three, and the 19 misses outside Washington’s line were still possessions the offense had to replace somehow.
Morez Johnson Jr. supplied an answer that did not require a jumper. He finished with 17 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end, and his work repeatedly extended Dallas possessions. With Utah ahead 70-68 in the third quarter, Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound at 7:34.
He collected another at 7:06, then Kyrie Irving hit a 14-foot pull-up to put Dallas in front 72-70. Johnson claimed one more offensive board at 6:33 before Washington went to the line.
That sequence captures why the shooting imbalance did not become the whole game. Dallas had 21 offensive rebounds and turned them into 20 second-chance points. A missed 3 is still a miss, but it becomes less damaging when the possession survives and the defense must work again.
Johnson had 13 points to go with his rebounding, and his 24 minutes gave Dallas a steady interior source while the outside shots came and went.
The third quarter also showed that Dallas could separate without Washington carrying every scoring possession. Utah led 60-59 at 10:19 after Lauri Markkanen’s 3-pointer. Flagg answered with a 25-foot 3 to make it 62-60, then added free throws, a 2-foot shot, a dunk and more foul shots during the stretch that pushed Dallas to an 81-70 lead at 3:33.
