DALLAS — Who better than PJ Washington to get the Dallas Mavericks' ticket to the Western Conference finals?
Washington, the surprise star of the series, hit the winning free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the Mavericks' 117-116 Game 6 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
The Mavericks advance to play the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. Dallas will open the Western finals on the road.
The Mavericks rallied from a 17-point deficit early in the third quarter to eliminate the top-seeded Thunder.
Dallas took its first lead of the second half on a Luka Doncic breakaway over Luguentz Dort with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks took the lead for good with a three-pointer by Washington with three minutes remaining. Washington, who led the Mavs in scoring three times during the series, scored all nine of his points in the final 5:19.
Doncic, the only remaining starter from the Mavs' West Finals two years ago, finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Mavericks dominated the rebounding margin by a 47-31 margin in large part due to rookie big man Dereck Lively II. He had 12 points, 15 rebounds and was plus-26 in 30 minutes off the bench.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, improved to 14-0 in games in which his team had a chance to clinch the series.
