The Dallas Mavericks witnessed a huge lineup blow Saturday before facing the Los Angeles Clippers. PJ Washington previously dealt with a shoulder injury two weeks ago for Dallas. But a new ailment emerged pregame.
ClutchPoints NBA reporter Joey Mistretta revealed the newest Washington setback before tipoff.
“PJ Washington was a late scratch with a right ankle injury and is questionable to play against the Clippers tonight, the Mavericks announce,” Mistretta posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
Washington got scratched for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson upgraded to available after appearing to be out. But Anthony Davis got sidelined too before facing the Clippers.
PJ Washington entering new role with Mavericks?
The forward arrived to Dallas one year ago via the Charlotte Hornets.
Now he came close to accepting a role off the Mavericks bench. Washington, however, rose as a valuable scorer for Dallas.
He dropped 22 points on the Los Angeles Lakers despite the 129-119 loss. Washington became even more stellar the previous game — hitting 27 points in the loss to the Miami Heat. The New Orleans Pelicans even watched him drop 24 on them.
The veteran entered Saturday having pull off three 20-point outings in a span of four games during Thanksgiving week. Washington hit two more 20+ point contests earlier this season too: 21 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 16 and 29 versus the Houston Rockets on Nov. 3.
Dallas is currently a disappointing 5-15 overall this season. Los Angeles jumped out to an early 48-42 lead in the second quarter.
