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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — A couple of heated confrontations during the fourth quarter of the Dallas Mavericks‘ 101-90 Game 3 win over the LA Clippers on Friday night resulted in a pair of ejections and a boost to P.J. Washington‘s local popularity.
Washington, the power forward acquired by the Mavericks at the trade deadline, was ejected along with Clippers guard Russell Westbrook with 6:10 remaining.
That confrontation began with Westbrook fouling Mavs superstar Luka Doncic by grabbing his right arm from behind and yanking on it, pulling Doncic backward. When Doncic approached Westbrook to object, Westbrook shoved him with his left arm. Washington and Westbrook then exchanged shoves before other players, coaches, officials and security prevented the skirmish from escalating.
“Always got to protect 77 at all costs,” Washington told ESPN. “So I mean obviously it was a hard foul and then he pushed him afterwards, so I was right there and I just had to step into it.”
Westbrook, who finished with 1 point on 0-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes, was called for two technical fouls and ejected from a playoff game for the first time in his career. He exited the American Airlines Center without speaking to the media.
“You got to keep your composure,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It gets chippy in the playoffs and everyone wants to play well and do well, but you got to keep up composure no matter how the calls go. So we got to be better than that down the stretch when it comes to that.”
Washington, who had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in the win, was also ejected after being whistled for his second technical foul. His first came after a confrontation with Clippers guard Terance Mann with 10:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.
In that instance, Washington struck an instantly iconic pose in the midst of players pushing and shoving, crossing his arms and staring at the Clippers bench.
“[Mann] was mad that I was looking at their bench, so I decided to look at it again,” Washington told ESPN. “Just coming in and trying to set a tone.”
As Washington posed in exaggerated fashion, Doncic stood next to him and smiled with delight. Washington kept a stone face.
“I wanted to get my flicks right for after the game,” Washington said with a grin, referring to the moment as a photo opportunity.
Doncic, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists despite describing his right knee as “really stiff” after injuring it late in the first quarter, expressed appreciation for Washington’s willingness to serve as an enforcer.
“Amazing,” Doncic said. “The things he does, he’s a team player. He helps all of us. I’m just really happy we’ve got him on our team.”
Westbrook was also called for a flagrant 1 foul for hitting Dallas wing Josh Green in the head during a fast-break dunk attempt with 8:37 remaining in the second quarter. He had a post-whistle brush of Doncic reviewed in the final minute of the first half, but the officials determined that incident didn’t merit any punishment.
“I’m used to that,” Doncic said of being subjected to extra physicality. “I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball.”
After the Mavs called themselves out for a lack of physicality in their Game 1 loss, they have held the Clippers to 93 and 90 points in the past two games to take a 2-1 series lead. Dallas coach Jason Kidd considers the friction that emerged in the fourth quarter to be typical for a physical series.
“We’re all competing for each inch to try to win,” Kidd said. “This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality. It’s very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what’s taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another.”
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.