Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals

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DALLAS -- Who better than P.J. Washington to punch the Dallas Mavericks' ticket to the Western Conference finals?

Washington, the surprise star of the series, made the game-winning free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the Mavericks' 117-116 Game 6 win 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 Denver Nuggets. Dallas will open the West finals on the road.

The Mavericks rallied from a 17-point deficit early in the third quarter to eliminate the top-seeded Thunder.

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Dallas took its first lead of the second half on a Luka Doncic fadeaway over Luguentz Dort with 3:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks took the lead for good on a 3-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 starter remaining from the Mavs' West finals run 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 when his team had a chance to clinch the series.

Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals

Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals

Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals

Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals

Mavericks rally past Thunder, secure berth in Western Conference finals