In it American Airlines Center and for the fourth game of the second round of the playoffs of the Western Conference of the NBAthe Mavericks they beat him for 111-101 to the Sun’s and tied the series at two wins apiece.
Dallas was ahead on the scoreboard from nine minutes remaining in the first quarter until the end of the game. He got a maximum difference of 17 points in the second period and, despite some favorable passages from the rival, he managed to maintain the advantage and did not suffer major shocks to stay with the victory.
Phoenix’s defense focused on neutralizing Luka Doncić and he did it successfully, as the Slovenian made just nine of his 25 shots from the field. However, in their eagerness to handcuff the 23-year-old, the Arizona cast neglected the shooters.
In this way, in repeated possessions Doncic (11 assists) drew marks and then found his teammates with time and space to punish from long distance. The Texas team totaled 20 triples (nine more than the opponent), of which eight were scored by Dorian Finney-Simth (post-season personal record).
In addition, another key to understanding the result lies in the fateful afternoon of Chris Paul, who for just the fourth time in his career reached six fouls in a playoff game. It should be said that more than one infraction was controversial, especially the last one, which occurred almost nine minutes from the end of the match. CP3 could only play 23′.
Devin Booker he tried to cover up Paul’s foul problems: he was the top scorer with 35 points. However, it was not enough for those led by Monty Williams, who will now try to retake the lead in the key this Tuesday at the Footprint Center.
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