After defeating the Suns, did the Mavericks just find the ideal counter-weapon against Kevin Durant?

It is believed that Kelvin Durant is a once-in-a-generation scorer. He was a Texas native when he entered the league, therefore few defensive specialists were able to stop him. The Dallas Mavericks and Jason Kidd, though, might have figured out the puzzle. When they unleashed PJ Washington on the Phoenix Suns, everything went smoothly.

Numerous other players have been locked up by PJ Washington. Fans of the Mavericks have dubbed his defensive shut-down technique “PJail.” And Kevin Durant was the most recent person to join that list. According to All Things Mavs, the Suns’ top scorer only made nine of his 22 tries. Durant only managed 23 points from this, far less than his usual 28 points each night.

 

As soon as the Suns noticed that Washington had a passing path to Durant, they were aggressive. He easily stole the ball away, forcing him to commit five turnovers. The Slim Reaper saves the day for the Suns whenever there was no one else with whom to pass or create plays. Of his eight efforts, he only succeeded in sinking two against the Mavericks’ best defense.

Jason Kidd played 31 minutes against Washington and showed he knew what he was doing. In addition, the Mavericks forward scored 12 points and dished out a helper. He finished the evening with six rebounds.

 

Devin Booker stepped up for the Suns when Durant was having a somewhat bad night. He scored 35 points and dribbled eight rebounds to spark their offense. Six players on this team scored in the double digits overall. All of that, though, was insufficient to outscore the Mavericks or even simply Luka Doncic.

The standout player for the Mavericks scored 41 points on 14 of his 27 shots. Having grabbed nine rebounds, he topped the club in that category. Additionally, Coach Kidd put him in charge of floor general tasks. His offensive execution may have contributed to three turnovers, but his 11 assists more than offset those mistakes. The Mavericks have now won 33 games this season. They might overtake the New Orleans Pelicans for the fifth spot in the Western Conference rankings if they continue to play at this level.