It wasn't just that the Suns forced Doncic to beat them while limiting everyone around him, they also did a decent job of limiting his overall impact on the game. While Phoenix has been in this exact position before in this series, up big before hitting the road, something about Game 5 felt different than their first two wins of this series. Phoenix completely outplayed Dallas in a number of ways Tuesday night, and now the Suns carry momentum heading into Game 6, a closeout game on the road. Suns on brink of the conference finals for second-straight year There was an error processing your subscription.ģ. That low assist total paints the picture of the lack of ball movement from Dallas, and it can't go into Game 6 - an elimination game - playing the same way it played Tuesday night. That's just an unacceptable number for a team that features as great a passer as Doncic. Although Doncic racked up 11 boards, he finished with just two assists, reverting back to not completely trusting his teammates, something that Dallas head coach Jason Kidd has touched on numerous times this season.Īfter finishing Game 4 with 22 assists, the Mavericks only had nine Tuesday night.
He's now 3-for-18 over the last two games from long range. While Doncic finished the game with 28 points, he struggled yet again to be efficient from beyond the arc, going just 2-for-8 from downtown. The 12 turnovers the Mavericks committed in the third quarter were the most a team has committed in a playoff quarter since the Knicks in 2012, per ESPN Stats and Info. Dallas isn't going to win many games with all three of those guys struggling, and it was just a piece of the larger picture that was the Mavericks' offense completely sputtering in the second half.īetween missed open looks and silly turnovers, Dallas looked like it completely forgot the formula that won it the last two games. On Tuesday night, those three guys combined to go just 3-for-12, with Bullock missing all three attempts he took. Dallas role players were M.I.A.Įntering Game 5, the Mavericks had three guys shooting well over 40 percent from deep in Finney-Smith, Bullock and Kleber.
SUNS GAME TONIGHT TIME SERIES
Without those kick-outs to guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber it forced the Mavericks to beat the Suns with just Doncic, and similar to the first two games of this series that plan didn't work. They rotated to the open man better on defense and limited Doncic's ability to drive to the rim and kick it out to the perimeter. It was the exact type of performance the Suns needed after two lackluster showings on the road.
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Dallas looked completely out of sorts on offense, settling for poor shots due to Phoenix's stifling defense, and looked completely helpless on the other end while Booker and Bridges just continued to cook after halftime. Phoenix outscored Dallas 33-14 in the third quarter, holding the Mavericks to just 6-for-16 from the field while forcing 12 turnovers. While the first half was equally matched, the Suns asserted their dominance in the third quarter and never looked back. The Mavericks looked every bit Phoenix's equal while playing at home, but in Game 5 on Tuesday the Suns reminded Dallas - and everyone in the league - why they were the best team of the regular season. Chris Paul had uncharacteristic turnovers in Game 3, and completely fouled out in Game 4. Phoenix looked like a shell of itself over the weekend in back-to-back losses to Dallas. Suns rekindled that magic from early in this series Here are three takeaways from Game 5 between the Suns and Mavericks.
Poor shooting and 12 turnovers in the third quarter blew the game wide open in favor of the Suns, and now the Mavericks face elimination in Game 6 Thursday night. Deandre Ayton added 20 points as the Suns made a point to get him more involved on offense, and Mikal Bridges broke out of his shooting slump to finish with 14 points.ĭespite a strong first half, Dallas fell behind by double-digits in the early going of the second half and never made it back into the game. The Suns benefitted from dominant second-half scoring, as four players finished the win in double figures, led by Devin Booker's 28 points and seven rebounds. The Phoenix Suns are one win away from a berth in the Western Conference finals after dominating the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night in a 110-80 win to take a 3-2 series lead.
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