Mavs cruise past Suns
Dallas force Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals
DALLAS – Luka Doncic scored 33 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.
The home team has won all six games, none with a final margin closer than seven points. The deciding game is Sunday in Phoenix.
The Mavericks won when facing elimination for the first time in three tries with Doncic, their three-time AllStar.
The two losses came against the Clippers the past two seasons, including Game 7 in Los Angeles last year after the visitors won the first six games, a first in the playoffs. Dallas is playing beyond the first round for the first time since winning the title 11 years ago.
The Suns, seeking a second consecutive trip to the West finals, are going the distance in a series for the first time in two postseasons with Chris Paul and Devin Booker. The previous three went six, including Phoenix’s loss to
“He pitched beautifully and threw a lot of first pitch strikes. Issac also came up big with a few inning ending double-play balls that our defense cashed in on. It was a terrific performance.”
As it turned out, the only run support for Yuma Catholic came in the fourth inning. Roberto Romero connected with a one-out double and later came around to score on an Austin Priest single. Priest also made his presence felt on the mound as he recorded a four-out save and retired all but one of the batters he faced in relief.
By virtue of the win, YC will play the third and final game of the best-of-three series against Gilbert North on Saturday at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the championship round of the state tournament. Meanwhile, Thrower stated he is excited his club was able to stave off elimination and force a third game.
“This is what it’s all about, we’ve got to wake those bats up a little bit and go out there and play baseball on Saturday. The guys are ready for an opportunity to play for the state championship,” the Yuma Catholic coach added.
Milwaukee last year in the NBA Finals.
Booker scored 19 points but was shut out from 3-point range (0 of 4) while going 6 of 17. Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Paul added 13 points.
The top-seeded Suns were held to a season low in scoring, regular season or playoffs, for the second time in the series.
Reggie Bullock scored 19 points and Jalen Brunson added 18 for Dallas. Spencer Dinwiddie had a series-high 15, all on 3s (5 of 7).
Doncic played through an apparent left leg injury that sent him to the locker room when he would have been out of the game anyway in the second quarter. He returned to the bench and rode a stationary bike before re-entering the game.
Soon after, the Mavericks went on a decisive 19-5 run to finish the first half, turning a two-point lead into a 60-45 halftime edge.
It was a home-team replay of the third quarter from Game 5, when Phoenix went on a 17-0 run for an 18-point lead and ended up winning by 30.
Doncic, who had 11 rebounds and eight assists, fought his shot while fighting the injury early, but had a 3 on the late first-half run and scored 10 in the third to help the Mavericks push their lead to 22 (94-72).
Paul mostly avoided the problems with turnovers and fouls that cost the Suns in the first two losses in Dallas. But the 37-yearold point guard was never much of a factor, getting just seven shots.
Booker was stuck on eight points while Dallas pulled away in the second and third quarters, opening the second half with a miss on an ill-advised 3 and not scoring again until the Suns were down 21 late in the third.
TIP-INS
Suns: Ayton got a technical for elbowing Doncic in the face when Doncic fouled him on a dunk in the third quarter. Doncic missed the technical free throw, and
Ayton finished the threepoint play . ... Bismack Biyombo didn’t have the same impact as the replacement for JaVale McGee, who didn’t play for the first time in the series. Biyombo had four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes.
Mavericks: This was the 10th consecutive time this season the Mavericks have answered a loss of at least 20 points with a victory . ... Dallas recovered from a slow start from 3 to finish 16 of 39 (41%) while holding the Suns to 40% overall for the game.