Russell Westbrook, P.J. Washington ejected in chippy Mavs win - ESPN

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,