The Dallas Mavericks appeared to be on the ropes Friday night against the Denver Nuggets after they blew a 24-point lead in a matter of minutes to start the third quarter. It was Nikola Jokic's return game after missing the last three, and the Mavericks, who were without superstar guard Luka Doncic were on borrowed time once Denver took its first lead of the game with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Momentum shifted in favor of the Nuggets, and it felt like Denver would close out the game from there with Jokic preparing to put the finishing touches on what was yet another MVP-level performance. But the Doncic-less Mavericks, specifically PJ Washington, had other plans.
After the Nuggets took a 108-106 lead just over halfway through the fourth quarter, Washington proceeded to score nine of the Mavericks' final 15 points, capped off by a steal that thwarted a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
The Mavericks avoided disaster, beating the Nuggets on the road, 123-120. Washington finished the night with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, but it was his play down the stretch that won Dallas the game. His bully-ball drive and layup over the smaller Jamal Murray gave Dallas a four-point lead with just under 50 seconds left.
It's the exact type of performance the Mavericks needed from Washington in the wake of news that Doncic would be out at least a week with a wrist injury. It was also sorely needed on a night when Kyrie Irving shot 37% from the floor and Klay Thompson was practically invisible in his zero-point performance on 0 for 8 from the field in 23 minutes of action. Irving scored just two points and missed all seven of his field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.
The win pushes Dallas' win streak to four games, a positive trend for a team that was on a four-game losing streak right before that.
After the game, Washington mentioned that this recent win streak has been fueled by Dallas' inexplicable loss to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 14, who at that point had only won two games this season.
"I think after that loss, we had a meeting and told ourselves we had to be better," Washington said.
This win also gives the Mavericks a perfect 2-0 record in games without Doncic this season, after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder two games prior in which Washington also stood out by leading the Mavericks in scoring. That's an important improvement for a team that went 4-8 in games without their franchise centerpiece a season ago. Seeing clutch performances from role players like Washington -- and Naji Marshall, who led the Mavericks in scoring Friday night with a career-high 26 points -- shows that Dallas can rely on other guys outside of Doncic.
That wasn't always the case earlier in Doncic's career, as he was expected to shoulder a significant amount of the workload on offense for Dallas, especially in clutch situations. Doncic is still at the center of everything the Mavericks do offensively, but this game showed us that Dallas may have some other guys who can be relied upon when things get tight.
Dallas will next take on the Miami Heat on Sunday. Doncic will once again be out, which means Washington and others will have to carry over this performance from Friday if they want to add to this winning streak and climb further up the West standings.
This win against the Nuggets also gives the Mavericks a glimmer of hope as it pertains to the NBA Cup, firmly positioning Dallas in the No. 2 spot in Group C behind the Warriors. Golden State already clinched the group on Friday night, but the Mavericks could reach the knockout stage as a wild card depending on how they finish out group play, which concludes for them on Dec. 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies.