The Washington Wizards entered Saturday looking to end a seven-game losing skid, as they welcome Cooper Flagg and the visiting Dallas Mavericks at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. The Mavericks are also not doing very great in the 2025-26 NBA season, but regardless of the quality of their opponent, the Wizards are always going to need a good game from someone like CJ McCollum to thrive.
The veteran guard, who was traded to Washington from the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer, stepped up and cooked early against the Mavericks, helping set the tone for Washington in the first half. By halftime, the former Lehigh Mountain Hawks star already had 23 points to go with four rebounds and two assists, plus a steal in only 17 minutes of work. McCollum was also incredibly efficient in getting his buckets in the first half, as he shot 8-for-12 from the field, while knocking down two of his four attempts from behind the arc.
CJ McCollum in the first half vs Dallas: pic.twitter.com/b0LLzsRUF4
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 9, 2025
Of course, McCollum’s hot shooting early versus Dallas got fans buzzing on social media.
“I was told CJ was washed. Sure as hell doesn’t look like that,” one social media user on X, formerly Twitter, commented.
“The beast is awakening,” another comment read.
Another shared: “Nice, McCollum’s on fire tonight.”
“If I’m Nico Harrison and the Dallas Mavericks I’d go get CJ! At this point he’s a better playmaker and shooter than Klay!” shared another social media user.
“Mavs defense is free eats, yesterday JA and today CJ,” one fan said, while also skewering the Mavericks’ defense.
McCollum entered Saturday averaging just 13.1 points per game on a 35.5 percent shooting from the field, so one can say that he was due for a throwback performance.
However, McCollum ultimately got just 25 points against the Mavericks, notching only two points in the final two quarters.
The Wizards also ended up losing the contest, 111-105, to drop to 1-9, so far in the 2025-26 season.
