Mavs stun top seeded Suns as Celtics dethrone Bucks
Luka Doncic led a stunning Dallas Mavericks rout of the top-seeded Phoenix Suns while the Boston Celtics eliminated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on a day of NBA playoff upsets.
In Phoenix, Slovenian superstar Doncic led a total eclipse of the Suns as Dallas clinched a 4-3 series victory with an extraordinary 12390 thrashing of the Western Conference favourites.
The Suns had entered the playoffs boasting the best record in basketball after a 64win regular season and were tipped by many to return to the NBA Finals for a second straight season.
But the Suns’ dreams of a championship were incinerated by a red-hot shooting performance from Doncic and the Mavs, who will now advance to a Western Conference finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors starting on Wednesday (Thursday, Phl time).
Doncic finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while teammate Spencer Dinwiddie provided scoring support with 30 points, including five three-pointers.
Jalen Brunson also posted double figures while Phoenix were left pondering a noshow by their two stars Devin Booker (11 points) and Chris Paul (10).
The Mavericks led from start to finish and at one stage in the second half had sprinted into a 46-point lead.
Their 57-27 half-time lead was the biggest ever in a decisive game seven in the NBA playoffs.
“Amazing,” Doncic said. “I don’t know what to say but this was amazing to win.
“Everybody played as hard as they can. We didn’t have any days off. An incredible team win. I don’t have nothing more to say.”
Meanwhile, there was a sense of deflation among the Bucks players after their reign as NBA champions ended in a convincing 109-81 game seven defeat to the Celtics
in Boston.
Celtics forward Grant Williams produced a deadly display of scoring from threepoint range at the TD Garden as Boston advanced to a conference finals showdown with the Miami Heat with a 4-3 series win.
Williams’s shooting from beyond the arc was emblematic of Boston’s superiority from the field as the Bucks missed a slew of wide-open looks.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists for Milwaukee.
But the Celtics’ threepoint shooting accuracy proved the difference between the two teams as Boston completed a comeback from 3-2 down in the best-of-seven series.