Game 7s: Mavericks rout Suns, Celtics beat the Bucks
PHOENIX » Luka Doncic scored 35 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Dallas Mavericks stunned the top-seeded Phoenix Suns with a 12390 Game 7 blowout Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.
Dallas broke through on the road after the home team won the first six games, dominating in a hostile environment from start to finish. It was an embarrassing no-show for the playoff-tested Suns — who advanced to the NBA Finals last season.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks will face thirdseeded Golden State, with Game 1 on Wednesday night in San Francisco.
Doncic gave 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, with Donic matching the Suns’ total.
The Suns missed shots they usually make, made bad passes they usually don’t make and looked nothing like the team that won an NBA-best 64 games during the regular season. By halftime, many Suns fans were booing,
Phoenix All-Star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker were never a factor. The 37-year-old Paul had 10 points and four assists. Booker had11 points and shot 3 of 14.
CELTICS 109, BUCKS 81 » Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Boston set a Game 7 record with 22 3-pointers and the Celtics beat defending champion Milwaukee in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference final.
Second-seeded Boston will face top-seeded Miami. Game 1 is Tuesday night in Florida.
Jayson Tatum added 23 points for Boston.
The Celtics outscored the Bucks 61-38 in the second half. Boston used a whopping 54-point advantage from behind the arc to improve to 25-9 in seventh games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists for Milwaukee. The Bucks were 4 for 33 from the 3-point range.