Suns vs Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic had to be playing with some discomfort for most of Monday's series opener against the Phoenix Suns.

45/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) dunks the ball past Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder (99) during the fourth quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 43/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after a call went against the Mavericks during the fourth quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 42/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) blocks a shot by Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (3) during the fourth quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 41/48Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) is fouled by Dallas Mavericks forward Reggie Bullock (25) in front of the Mavericks bench during the fourth quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 35/48Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) dunks the ball past Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the third quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 32/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic reacts after a foul call went against the Mavericks during the third quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 27/48Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) is defended by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 20/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic falls into the first row of the corwd during the first quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) While attempting a 3-point shot with less than nine minutes to go in the second quarter, Suns forward Jae Crowder accidentally caught Doncic where the sun don’t shine. 19/48Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) is fouled by Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson (13) during the first quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 18/48Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) is defended by Phoenix Suns forward Cameron Johnson (23) during the first quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) 13/48Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson (13) has his shot blocked by Phoenix Suns guard Landry Shamet (14) during the second quarter in Game 1 of an NBA second round playoff series on Monday, May 2, 2022, in Phoenix, Ariz.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

Dallas, on the other hand, got 45 points from Luka Dončić, but not much from everyone else. Every Suns starter scored in double figures, compared to only three ...

At the same time, Dallas seemed to bother Phoenix a bit by playing super small—taking Kleber off the floor and going with Luka, Brunson, Dinwiddie, Reggie Bullock, and Dorian Finney-Smith. Dončić was able to find some driving lanes, while Ayton curiously couldn’t take advantage late as well as he did earlier in the night. After a first round matchup that was draining both emotionally and physically, as well as the injury scare with Booker, every minute could end up counting for the Suns. (The Suns had a 140.8 offensive rating in Kleber’s 24 minutes.) Part of this is by design—Luka is always going to be a high usage player, and he’s young enough to carry such a load for Dallas. But it’s a style that often becomes more difficult as the playoffs endure. And how much of that was Phoenix taking its foot off the gas? CP3 will turn 37 during this series, and while he’s still more than capable of winning as either a facilitator or scorer, Phoenix needs to make sure he’s fresh for all four rounds. (He finished with 23 points, anyway.) Cam Payne hit four of his eight attempts after shooting only 29.5% against the Pels. And Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson combined to hit six threes. Phoenix coach Monty Williams said after the game he wasn’t thinking about Round 1 when he gave Paul an extended break in the second, but in general he likes to get Paul extra rest when he can. The big lead the Suns built in the first half—going up by as much as 14 in the second quarter—gave Williams the luxury to ride other units. On the flip side, Luka played 44 minutes and looked a little worse for the wear toward the latter half of the fourth quarter. I just told coach I ain’t play much in the second quarter,” Paul said after the game. Paul, who scored 33 in the Round 1 clincher, played only 29 minutes in the victory, an indicator of how balanced his Phoenix team is. The Suns took Game 1 against the Mavs in their second-round series with a 121–114 win.

Despite a big night from Luka Doncic, Phoenix uses its guard depth and the play of center Deandre Ayton to build a 1-0 lead in the West semifinals.

Of course, Phoenix coach Monty Williams wasn’t happy with Doncic hitting the Suns for 45 points. Doncic still managed to fire up a game-high 11 3-point attempts as the Mavericks attempted 39 of them overall. Kidd is correct, considering the other Mavericks starters not named “Doncic” combined to score just 39 points. For the most part, Phoenix excelled at staying in front of Doncic and the rest of Dallas’ playmakers. It’s clear Phoenix understands just how easily Doncic can make a defense start scrambling, and the Suns want no parts of that. Doncic managed to rack up 14 points in the first frame. Whenever Doncic and Maxi Kleber were both in the game, the Suns switched everything to keep the point guard from finding the power forward for open looks. Phoenix hardly ever ran extra defenders at Doncic to make him give up the ball. Kleber still hit 5 of 6 from deep in the first half for 16 points. Doncic became the youngest player since Kobe Bryant in 2001 to pour in 45 points with at least 10 rebounds in a playoff contest. He started off the night sizzling, hitting four of his first six shots. Cameron Johnson chipped in a playoff career-high 17 points, while veteran point guard Chris Paul simply blessed us with the best field goal percentage by a guard over any two-game playoff span (21-of-27 shooting over his last two games) in scoring his 19 points on 7 of 13 from the floor.

Your weekly Inside the Suns analysis straight from the BSotS community who live and breathe the team.

Rod: They can’t best the Suns with a small ball lineup as they did with the Jazz but I don’t doubt them trying it. But their primary goal initially is probably to do everything they can to stop CP3. He’s the one who is pretty healthy, and he’s the guy that runs this whole team. Rod: On offense, the Suns definitely need to feed Deandre Ayton the ball and attack the basket. Alex S: Mavs are going to try to throw everything at Booker and make the “others” beat them. On defense, the Suns are going to have to play great perimeter D. Dallas leads everybody in three-point attempts (41.6 per game) and hits a very respectable 37.1% from downtown. he does like the playoffs, and seems to usually turn it on a bit more in them. With the Pels, the Suns seemed to think they could “flip the switch” and get wins when ever they wanted. GuarGuar: I think Dallas is really going to try and get us in foul trouble. The other guys are going to need to step up in the early games of the series against the Mavs. And that’s a tall ask given that Mikal is going to have all he can handle on the defensive side with Luka. I really hope Ayton steps up. Sun-Arc: Lots to unpack with this next series- but if I have to focus on one area it would be: Energy. The Suns won the most games in the regular season because they outworked everyone else in 78% of their games. My hope is Book looks to be 80%+ by game 1 and can take on more workload as the series progresses. The Suns are off to a 1-0 series lead following a solid performance in game one by their starters and key bench players.

Dallas looked helpless for most of the series opener in Phoenix, and then the team went on a massive run.

"I thought Do was great at the 5," Kidd said. "I liked the fact that we were not settling for the 3s tonight," Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. "We sort of looked like ourselves as far as sharing the ball and guys making shots," Paul said. "Anytime a guy has 45, you look at that number and … you don't like it," Williams said. When the Suns look their best, they are putting opposing teams in rotation, moving the ball from side to side and creating easy looks all over the court. Soon thereafter on Monday, the Suns had a 9-0 lead, and then it was 20-6, a barrage of ball movement and transition points.

A sports television personality likes the Dallas Mavericks' chances of beating the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Playoffs after Game 1 of the series.

The Suns have the better roster. The Suns might have the better coach. … I believe the Pelicans come back to Phoenix for Game 7. He's doing it because he's trying to play some mind games that will not work with the Dallas Mavericks … This series is going to be a war. Did it despite Jae Crowder going full Chris Paul and kicking him in the groin mid-game. "Suns have no answer for Luka. Phoenix got every rebound & hit 3 desperation end of shot clock shots in the 2nd half that killed any comeback attempt.

Dallas found late success with a smaller lineup in Game 1, while Phoenix is already preparing to counter it.

“There were some miscommunications in transition that we were trying to get to our man instead of just finding a guy and then figuring it out later on in the possession,” Williams explained. But some, we can certainly take out just with transition defense, and just the ability to guard the ball, and not have to help with something that’s hard against them, but we feel we can do a better job [of].” That’s just the way we play.” “We’ve got to attack more paint.” Williams and the Suns anticipate as much in Game 2, as well as more 3-point attempts from the visitors. The Mavericks jacked 39 shots from range in Game 1. “I just feel like no matter who’s in there – small-ball lineup or a bigger lineup – if we’re playing hard from the beginning of the game, it’s gonna put us in a better position to be successful. So, we’ve got to do the same thing. “We eased into the game,” Brunson said Tuesday before Dallas’ practice session. But that duo combined over 30 minutes apiece to shoot 9 of 21 in Game 1, finishing plus-2 and minus-7, respectively. We went and looked at the film, [and saw] we missed a number of bunnies around the basket. “But there’s a certain way we like to play, and we felt like we had decent control of the game.

For a few, brief moments in the first round, the Phoenix Suns looked vulnerable. When Devin Booker was injured, the 64-18 Suns were pushed to the limit by ...

The ones that allowed the Suns to dominate the bulk of the night? As well as Doncic has always played in the playoffs, a healthy Booker makes this a mismatch. The Suns may be the NBA's best team, but Doncic, in a playoff setting, could easily be its best player. If the Mavericks continue to do so in this series, Ayton is going to continue punishing them for it, and with restricted free agency coming up this summer, the timing for him couldn't be better. For a few, brief moments in the first round, the Phoenix Suns looked vulnerable. The Suns looked mortal.

The best team in the league couldn't keep Luka Doncic from going off for 45 points in Game 1. The question, though, is which Dallas Mavericks players will ...

If Dallas can rebound and get the 1-1 split in Phoenix – which is the main goal of any team without home-court advantage in the playoffs – it will be in good shape as the series shifts to American Airlines Center for Games 3 and 4 over the weekend. Utah, and now it's looking like he could be in for more of the same vs. Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith "joined the party" to an extent in Game 1 by scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively, but that scoring was uneven throughout the game. One player that simply not be capable of joining the party this series is Dwight Powell. He barely played in the first-round series vs. Dinwiddie must step up his aggression in Game 2 and try to take advantage of this. ... Communication is going to be key the next game."

The Phoenix Suns host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Wednesday night.

Mikal Bridges will understandably effect Brunson when he is assigned to him. But when Bridges is on Brunson, he isn't on Luka Doncic or Spencer Dinwiddie. Those ...

That lineup has to play more minutes for the Mavericks to have a chance. This will also free the Mavericks up to play more pure small ball. But when Bridges is on Brunson, he isn’t on Luka Doncic or Spencer Dinwiddie. Those are the times for Brunson to be a floor spacer rather than a creator. He will need to do the same to Crowder in this round. Brunson destroyed O’Neale with his quickness and craft in the first round. The Mavericks must overcome that dominance.

The Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their NBA Playoffs series on Wednesday. Look back at our updates from the game.

The story of the first half of Suns vs. And he's shared it for the Suns vs. Tipico Sportsbook has the Suns at +230 to win the title. Dallas outscored the Suns 32-26 in the second quarter. The Mavericks are 4-for-8. The Mavericks have been whistled for 14. They had 10 turnovers in the first half of Game 2. He has 14 points for the Suns in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks are 8-for-10. The Suns have been called for 17 fouls. The Mavericks are 28-for-59. Luka Doncic only had two points for the Mavericks in the period after having 24 points at the half.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker recreated his famous 2020 bubble pose during Game 2 of the conference semis against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Suns are up 2-0 in the series with Game 3 in Dallas. He closed the game with 30 to lead Phoenix to a 129-109 victory. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker on Wednesday night recreated that famous picture of him on the floor looking up after hitting a game-winner over the Los Angeles Clippers in the bubble in 2020.

Here is all of the information you need to know for Game 2 between the Mavericks and Suns in the Western Conference semifinals.

- G Devin Booker Luka Doncic scored 13 of his 45 total points in the final period but the Mavericks ran out of time and were unable to get any closer. The Suns took Game 1 on Monday for their 10th straight win over the Mavericks, 121-114.

Down two at the end of last quarter, the Phoenix Suns have now snagged the lead. After three quarters neither squad has the contest in the bag, ...

- Jan 05, 2017 - Phoenix 102 vs. - Jan 12, 2017 - Dallas 113 vs. - Jan 31, 2018 - Phoenix 102 vs. - Apr 09, 2017 - Phoenix 124 vs. - Jan 09, 2019 - Dallas 104 vs. - Jan 28, 2020 - Phoenix 133 vs. After three quarters neither squad has the contest in the bag, but Phoenix leads 89-83 over the Dallas Mavericks. - Jan 30, 2021 - Phoenix 111 vs. A pair of defensive stats to keep an eye on: The Suns have been holding their opponents to a field goal percentage of 44.40%, which places them third in the league. - Jan 20, 2022 - Phoenix 109 vs. The Suns are hoping for another victory. Center JaVale McGee is also in foul trouble with five.

Luka Doncic put on a show in Game 1 but not enough of his Dallas Mavericks' teammates joined him on stage. Doncic will look to make Act 2 better than the ...

Suns: Shot 64.7% from the field in the first quarter. Not this time of the year and playing the best team in the league.'' The Mavs took a two-point lead after a foul-filled first half. The Suns shot 64.5% overall - which was a franchise record in the playoffs - and made 52% of their 3-pointers. Dallas slowly fought back and Spencer Dinwiddie hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38. But that's about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from 3-pointers to mid-range jumpers to layups. Doncic was quickly ushered away from the fan by Dallas team personnel. Booker hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth to give the Suns a 114-95 lead. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming. It's just the will to win.'' ''It all goes back to the work. ''You've just got to lean on the work,'' Paul said.

What was mostly a foul-fest turned into a Suns rout with Chris Paul leading the way.

and the bench is about to come in again. Mavericks coach put all the backups in at that point, giving up the game. The Suns took the lead back on their first offensive possession with a Booker three, then made another Book three the next time down. Suns just can’t get out of their own way, and are leaving the Mavericks open for way too many threes to keep them alive (13-30 now). They committed five fouls in the first three minutes of the quarter, putting the Suns in the penalty with 9 minutes left in the quarter. The Mavericks have made 10 of 20 threes. At halftime, the Mavericks are up 60-58. committed called in the second quarter alone. (not all bench, some starters, but clearly the Suns starters are okay together). Luka finally sat to start the second, with Brunson and Dinwiddie out there to handle the ball. He squares up Cameron Johnson to draw the second foul already. Dallas struggling to get consistent scores, so Luka is starting to do his thing again, driving into the paint to score or pass out.

Luka Doncic put on a show in Game 1 but not enough of his Dallas Mavericks' teammates joined him on stage. Doncic will look to make Act 2 better than the ...

Suns: Shot 64.7% from the field in the first quarter. Not this time of the year and playing the best team in the league.'' The Mavs took a two-point lead after a foul-filled first half. The Suns shot 64.5% overall - which was a franchise record in the playoffs - and made 52% of their 3-pointers. Dallas slowly fought back and Spencer Dinwiddie hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38. But that's about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from 3-pointers to mid-range jumpers to layups. Doncic was quickly ushered away from the fan by Dallas team personnel. Booker hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth to give the Suns a 114-95 lead. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming. It's just the will to win.'' ''It all goes back to the work. ''You've just got to lean on the work,'' Paul said.

Get a recap of the Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns basketball game.

Suns: Shot 64.7% from the field in the first quarter. The Mavs took a two-point lead after a foul-filled first half. Not this time of the year and playing the best team in the league.” The Suns shot 64.5% overall — which was a franchise record in the playoffs — and made 52% of their 3-pointers. Dallas slowly fought back and Spencer Dinwiddie hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38. But that's about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from 3-pointers to mid-range jumpers to layups. “The mood is fine,” Doncic said. Booker hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth to give the Suns a 114-95 lead. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming. It's just the will to win.” “You've just got to lean on the work," Paul said. “You guys tell me, you're watching the same thing,” Booker said.

In the series opener, Luka Doncic scored 45 points, but Phoenix's trio of Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker and Chris Paul proved to be too much.

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