Riding P.J. Washington’s hot shooting, the Dallas Mavericks will look to extend their recent dominance over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.
Washington leads the Mavericks with 22 3-pointers made this season, including six in a 112-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.
For first-year Mavericks coach Dusty May, Washington’s shooting prowess is what the Mavericks need to take advantage of during a friendly part of their early schedule. After facing Brooklyn (2-7), Dallas will finish a three-game homestand Monday against the Indiana Pacers (3-7).
“That’s what we need, for P.J. to be a 3-point shooter for us,” May said. “He’s got a beautiful shot. I love him shooting with that much confidence, because we need it.”
The Mavericks have won nine of their last 10 games against Brooklyn, including all three last season.
Dallas, a winner in four of its last six games overall, received its best effort from rookie Morez Johnson against Utah on Friday. Johnson, the former national champion with May at Michigan, continues to learn how to work into his head coach’s pro system. The 20-year-old posted 13 points and 17 rebounds against the Jazz.
“(Morez) is an everyday guy, so he’s handled it well, but he’s frustrated,” May said of Johnson, who hadn’t logged more than 18 minutes for Dallas until Friday.
“Even when he was frustrated, he was making impactful winning plays when it mattered most. I think he’s just relieved now to be getting back in the flow of playing, and he’s continuing to take care of his body. He looks great.”
Cooper Flagg leads the Mavericks with an average of 23.9 points per game, followed by Kyrie Irving at 21.4 and Washington at 15.8.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, will look to avoid falling to 0-3 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. The Nets led until the 1:26 mark against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday before falling 124-121 in their first night of a four-game road trip.
Third-year Nets coach Jordi Fernandez wants to see his team halt that early losing streak before it turns into a repeat of the previous two seasons, which saw Brooklyn go a combined 46-118.
“We are not consistent enough to do the right things,” Fernandez said. “It’s not about making shots. We’re trying to do the right things. … I was excited to have a chance to win (on Saturday). We were right there, and we couldn’t. Obviously we’ve got to figure it out. Me first, I need to find a way to worry about the right things consistently and take that positive step.”
For a team that boasts veteran leaders in Michael Porter Jr. (21.8 points per game) and Julius Randle (20.8), Fernandez needs his spiraling team to learn how to win close games.
“I hope that it hurts enough that when you’re in the same situation, we’re better as a group,” Fernandez said of being outscored 36-26 in the fourth quarter by Atlanta. “That’s pretty much it. We’re not going to change who we are. We’re going to come back and work and try to get 1% better.”
