Doncic, Mavs knock out Suns

PHOENIX — It was no surprise when Luka Doncic looked ready for Game 7, calmly draining his first three shots to give the Mavericks an early lead.

The stunner came over the next two hours: The top-seeded Suns had no response.

Doncic scored 35 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Mavericks blitzed the Suns with a 123-90 knockout Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.

“A lot of people said it would be a blowout,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said with a grin. ”They were right.”

Of course, it wasn’t Dallas that was supposed to win on Sunday. The home team won the first six games of the series, but the Mavs broke through, dominating in a hostile environment from start to finish. Conversely, it was an embarrassing no-show for the playoff-tested Suns — who advanced to the NBA Finals last season with a very similar roster.

The fourth-seeded Mavericks travel to face Golden State in Game 1 on Wednesday.

“Amazing,” Doncic said. “I don’t know what to say.”

Doncic earned the Mavs an early lead, making his first three shots, including two 3-pointers. That helped Dallas push to a 27-17 advantage in the first quarter and a whopping 57-27 cushion at the halftime break.

Doncic and Dinwiddie, who came off the bench, combined to pour in 48 of the Mavericks’ 57 points. Doncic’s 27 points in the first half matched the Suns’ team total.

Devin Booker finished with 11 points and shot 3 of 14. Chris Paul had 10 points and four assists. The Suns shot just 37.9 percent from the field.