P.J. Washington will receive an icy welcome as his play against the Thunder has OKC fans hating him more than any player in the NBA. Even if it's a skeleton crew going out there for Dallas, there will be plenty of emotions running high in this game.

A young Dallas Mavericks fan on Saturday got hit in the face by an errant pass from Kyrie Irving. Irving tried to make a crosscourt pass with over four

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.

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.