Kevin Durant missed two free throws with 1:53 remaining, and P.J. Washington secured the rebound with Dallas ahead 102-100. The Mavericks still had plenty of work before that narrow lead became a win, but Washington’s board secured a possession in the game’s most delicate stretch.
It also captured the tension in his night: three points and a 1-of-8 shooting line on one side, seven fourth-quarter rebounds on the other.
Dallas beat Houston 116-111 Friday at American Airlines Center, recovering from an eight-point deficit after three quarters by winning the final period 40-27. Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg delivered the scoring required to finish that escape. Washington’s contribution was quieter and more functional.
Six of his seven fourth-quarter rebounds came on defense, where ending Houston possessions became particularly valuable in a game tilted toward the Rockets in shot volume and second chances.
Washington’s work on the glass began before the Durant sequence. He entered the game at 9:23 of the fourth with Houston leading 86-80, then collected defensive rebounds at 8:52 and 8:23. Dallas reached a tie at 88 on Caleb Martin’s 7:43 three-pointer, which Washington assisted.
The Mavericks moved ahead 91-88, and after Durant’s free throws reduced Dallas’ lead to one, Washington grabbed another defensive rebound at 6:04 with Dallas leading 93-90.
He added defensive boards at 4:52 and 3:48. Then came Durant’s two misses and Washington’s rebound at 1:53, a small but important act of possession control while Dallas held a two-point edge. None of those plays should be inflated into a one-man defensive performance.
Houston still collected 20 offensive rebounds and took 96 field-goal attempts to Dallas’s 81. Washington simply kept showing up at the end of possessions during the quarter in which the Mavericks changed the game.
His offensive work was more mixed. The assist to Martin at 7:43 helped tie the score, and Washington grabbed an offensive rebound at 5:35. He then missed the tip shot that followed. One play created a made basket; the other created an opportunity that went unused. That is a fair description of a player who supplied useful connective work without solving Dallas’s scoring problem.
Washington’s shooting left plenty for his teammates to cover. He made one of eight attempts, including one three, for three points. Irving and Flagg supplied 68 between them, while the Dallas bench made six threes.
The arrangement worked Friday because the scoring was available elsewhere. That does not give Washington a permanent exemption from contributing on offense; it explains why rebounding could keep this particular night useful.
