Like the new kid at school who gets bullied by the older kids, sometimes the best advice a parent can give involves consequences — fight back and stand up for yourself, suspensions be damned. The Oklahoma City Thunder might need to apply that mindset against PJ Washington in their next matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks bounced back from a three-game losing streak, including a controversial loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. OKC entered the game tied for the NBA's best record and had just beaten the other team with the top record by 20 points.

Injuries have unfortunately been far too common for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024-25 season. The good news on Friday is that Kyrie Irving returned from injury, but bad news did not wait long to follow.

Even without important pieces like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Dereck Lively II, both teams' role players simmered the beef between the ball clubs. The usually well-mannered Thunder were hit with multiple technical fouls. PJ Washington continued to poke the bear.

That decision forced the Thunder to stick close to the Mavericks' role players throughout the first quarter. Once Washington scored the first five points, Irving asserted himself and drained a 3-pointer before finishing at the basket with a finger roll to give the Mavericks an early 10-0 lead.

Kyrie Irving returned from injury on Friday night and led the Dallas Mavericks to a big 106-98 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Irving scored 25 points and added five rebounds and five assists in a quality effort despite still dealing with a lumbar back sprain.