Mavs' Starter Sets Career High in Win Over Thunder, Calls Them A 'Good Matchup'

P.J. Washington is never beating the "Thunder Merchant" allegations.
Jan 23, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) laughs after a play against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Jan 23, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington (25) laughs after a play against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks picked up a massive 121-115 upset win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, giving them their third win over the Thunder this season. Dallas has been on life support recently with their injuries, winning just four of their last 14 games, yet two of those wins are over the Thunder, who entered the game with the NBA's best record.

A big reason for their success against the Thunder is P.J. Washington, who is 3-0 against OKC this season, averaging 21.3 PPG, 14.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG in those games. Thursday night's performance was another notch in that belt.

READ MORE: 3 Takeaways From Mavericks' Massive Upset Win Over Thunder

Washington put up 22 points, a career-high 19 rebounds (should've been 20), three assists, three steals, and two blocks. Anything he could've done for the Mavericks, he did. He's stepped up as a leader while Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving (and just about everybody else) have dealt with injury issues.

Because of his proclivity for playing well against the Thunder, he's picking up a reputation as an "OKC Merchant," as the chronically online people would say. He just calls them a "good matchup."

"I just like playing here; I feel like it's a good matchup for me every time," Washington explained in his postgame press conference on Thursday night. "It's funny seeing all the stuff like that on social media, but they're a great team, I just love going against them and competing against these guys... I feel like I can post up, I can just play my game any way I can. I feel like I'm very aggressive against them, and it puts them in rotations, and it's just really good for us on the offensive end."

P.J. Washington may be onto something about it being a good matchup. OKC has only lost eight games this season, and three of those have been to the Mavericks, all coming without Luka Doncic.

Washington had 30 points in a losing effort on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so it probably felt good for him to be on the winning side of a big performance.

But as only he could, Washington went out with a laugh as Alex Caruso fumbled a wide-open layup out of bounds.

READ MORE: Depleted Mavericks Upset Thunder in OKC, 121-115, Win Season Series

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter

More Dallas Mavericks News


Published
Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG