Suns vs Mavericks

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals series on Tuesday to take a 3-2 series lead.

Between role players hitting shots, the Suns’ defense getting stops and the crowd being deafening, this is the point in the series where all the momentum shifted back to Phoenix. Dallas does not play center Dwight Powell very much and as a result, they go small with Maxi Kleber at the center position. Devin Booker is one of the best all-around scoring weapons in the league right now and with others getting involved and knocking down shots, Phoenix completely sucked all the energy and momentum out of the Dallas Mavericks franchise in Game 5. The Suns were one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the league this season, so a run like this is really not too surprising for them, especially against a mediocre offensive team like the Mavericks. The ball movement in this game was non-existent for Dallas and with them constantly playing one-on-one with Doncic at the top of the arc, Phoenix was able to slowly collapse their defense and focus in on the Mavericks All-Star because they knew he was not going to be giving the ball up. Perhaps the biggest thing that sticks out from this game is the fact that the Mavericks had nine assists the entire way and one assist came in garbage-time at the end of the game, so they really only had eight true assists.

The Phoenix Suns are one victory away from a second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

"It's hard to win on the road. "We pride ourselves on the defensive end all year," Suns guard Devin Booker said. "In the last two games, our pace was very good. "The one thing we didn't do great was our pace," Doncic said. "It was the defense," Suns coach Monty Williams said of the reason for why his team pulled away. The Suns outscored Dallas 33-14 to take a 22-point lead into the final quarter.

After Marquese Chriss and Bismack Biyombo were ejected late in Phoenix's Game 5 win, Chriss followed Biyombo into Suns' tunnel to continue exchange.

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The Phoenix Suns play against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center The Phoenix Suns are spending $45492158 per win while the Dallas Mavericks ...

Frustrations boiled over after Game 5 between the Mavericks and the Suns when Dallas forward Marquese Chriss followed Phoenix center Bismack Biyombo off the ...

Phoenix will have a chance to close out the series in Dallas on Thursday in Game 6. Shortly after, Chriss went into the same tunnel, even though he was supposed to exit on the opposite side of the court. With the Suns leading by 28 with 2.3 seconds remaining, Chriss fouled Biyombo on a lob play.

The Phoenix Suns look to end what has been a heated best-of-7 series against the Dallas Mavericks in Thursday's Game 6 at American Airlines Center.

“When we played here (in Dallas), they played all the way to the end and I think that’s what they were trying to do,” Biyombo said after Wednesday's practice in Dallas. “And that’s understandable. “I said, ‘oh man,' but then I realized there’s cameras in the back and there’s not a need to, but again, look, it’s basketball. To start the game that way would be huge for us.” “I’ve been pretty adamant about the fans here have never been like that. “We’re going to be ready. “The first quarters have been huge for us, especially from the defensive side of the ball,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.

The Dallas Mavericks Western Conference Semifinal series against the Phoenix Suns has been a tale of two cities. In Game 1 and Game 2 in Phoenix, the Suns ...

But it is hard to trust them with the pressure of their season on the line. He is also one of the best pure scorers in the game today. Phoenix’s point guard has been held to single digits scoring in both of the last two games. I expect Kleber to play much better on both ends of the court in Game 6. Mavs superstar Luka Doncic is easily one of the best basketball players in the world. So, it will be important to get the right matchups. In Game 1 and Game 2 in Phoenix, the Suns were by far the better team. This game likely is going to come down to the fourth quarter. To Dallas’ credit, the team stuck together and flipped the script on Phoenix in Game 3 and Game 4. However, back in Phoenix in Game 5, things reverted back as the Suns won by 30 points. But guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans need to get going offensively. He was 1-for-5 from the floor, finishing with four points and two turnovers.

The Phoenix Suns have taken the famous sales advice from “Glengarry Glen Ross” to heart. Yeah, especially the part about “always be closing.

In Game 5, the Suns managed to keep a defender in front of Luka Doncic on drives and prevent the kickoff for open looks. “You’re going to have swings like that. “We just can’t walk in thinking we won the game already. In home games, the Suns have won by 15, 6 and 30 points. It’s something they’ve adopted as part of their team mindset, with guard Devin Booker referring to the team as “road warriors” in a TNT interview after Game 5. “I wish I had an answer for that.

Phoenix and Dallas have proven the value of home-court advantage with a combined 5-0 record in their buildings so far.

So, we’ve got to go and move the ball at a better pace, faster. “They will live and die by the 3,” Ayton said. But as good as they’ve been throughout the regular season and the first 11 games of the playoffs, the Suns haven’t yet figured out a way to topple Dallas on its home court in this series. Yet in the games played at American Airlines Center, the Mavericks found a way to negate Phoenix’s vaunted defense, averaging 107 points in their two victories. “They held us to 80, and that’s pretty impressive. I know our fans are going to be amazing.” “I think one time we had three 3s in a row, but we missed them all. Then, in the third quarter of Game 5 alone, the Mavs committed 12 miscues, marking the first time since the New York Knicks in 2012 that a team finished a quarter with that many giveaways in the postseason. If they can’t win Thursday’s Game 6 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, they’ll return home to the friendly confines of Footprint Center for Game 7. “Defense, that’s what got us going,” Suns center Deandre Ayton said after Game 5. “We’ve worked our tails off to be in this position,” he said. It allows for you to create this opportunity and advantage.”

The odds are against the Mavs, but this gritty team won't go down without a fight after being embarrassed in Game 5.

Whether the Mavs are able to force a Game 7 in Phoenix or not, you can expect them to come out with some anger and desperation while having an energized home crowd behind them. The third quarter was where the wheels fell off the wagon, though, as Dallas turned it over 12 times — the amount of turnovers Phoenix had for the entire game. After exchanging some heated words, both players were quickly ejected, and then security had to redirect Chriss as he followed Biyombo into the Suns’ tunnel.