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Mavericks

Klay Thompson shimmied his way to 32 points and the Golden State Warriors advanced to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight seasons by beating the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
Thompson scored 19 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer that he punctuated with teammate Stephen Curry&rsquo;s signature shake as the Warriors raced out to a 17-point halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.
Andrew Wiggins added 18 points and 10 rebounds, Draymond Green scored 17 points and Curry had 15 points and nine assists for Golden State.
Luka Doncic overcame a slow start to score 28 points for the Mavericks. Spencer Dinwiddie added 26.
After missing the playoffs in 2020 and &rsquo;21 in back-to back injury-plagued seasons, the Warriors are returning to a familiar stage. They are the first team to make six finals appearances in an eight-year span since the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls had a pair of three-peats from 1991-93 and 1996-98.
Golden State will host the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between Boston and Miami on June 2 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics hold a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 at home on Friday night.
The Warriors followed their pattern from the first two rounds by bouncing back after squandering a chance to end a series on the road by winning at home. Golden State is now 9-0 at the Chase Center this postseason, tying the 2017 team for the the most consecutive home wins in a single postseason in NBA history.
The star this game was Thompson, who sat out the past two seasons with injuries but showed flashes of his old self in this clincher.
After making just seven 3-pointers in the first four games of the series, Thompson had eight this game. He gave the Warriors a 13-point lead in the first half when he hit one from the corner before dancing and added two early in the third quarter for a 23-point lead.
Dallas cut a 25-point deficit down to eight in the final minute of the third quarter but couldn&rsquo;t get over the hump in the fourth. Thompson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with just under 3 minutes left gave the Warriors a 15-point lead.
SLOW START
Doncic has typically been a playoff star. His 32.7 points per game in his first 27 playoff games were second best to Jordan&rsquo;s 33.4 ppg among players with at least 10 playoff games.
But he had a rough start in this elimination game against Golden State. He shot 2 for 10 in the first quarter with his eight misses, tied for the most in the opening quarter of a playoff game since LeBron James missed all nine of his attempts in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Atlanta in 2015.
Doncic was held to six points in the first half, his lowest opening half of his postseason career, on 2-for-12 shooting before finding his stroke in the third quarter.
MOODY MANIA
With Otto Porter (left foot) sidelined for a second straight game, the Warriors got a big boost in the first half from 19-year-old rookie Moses Moody.
Moody scored all of his seven points in the second quarter with his 3-pointer giving Golden State a 56-38 lead. Moody scored just six points the first three games of this series for the Warriors before scoring 17 the past two games with Porter sidelined.

Klay Thompson shimmied his way to 32 points and the Warriors advanced to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight seasons.

Warriors beat Mavericks 120-110 to return to NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.
For the third straight series, the Warriors lost their first chance to advance while playing on the road. But they can make it to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight years by finishing off the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
The Warriors managed to rebound after those slipups in the first two rounds against Denver and Memphis and are hoping for a repeat after losing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-luka-doncic-4a70ca4c9a8f0b1f9a786f97cba535a1">119-109 at Dallas</a> on Tuesday night when the Mavericks got off to a fast start and didn't slow down until the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good lesson learned,&rdquo; guard Stephen Curry said. &ldquo;You tip your hat to them because they made a lot of shots. We had a couple breakdowns in our zone that gave them easy looks, and they made us pay. We knew to close them out, it&rsquo;s going to be tough. So you&rsquo;ve got to strap up on defense. When we go home, Game 5 and figure out how to slow them down, especially in the first quarter.&rdquo;
STAYING ALIVE
The Mavericks have staved off elimination three times this postseason, winning Games 6 and 7 against Phoenix in the second round and then again against the Warriors in Game 4. None of the games have been particularly close, with Dallas outscoring the opponents by 70 points in the three wins. Luka Doncic has led the way with 98 points and 35 rebounds in the three wins but says the key has been aggressiveness on offense and more commitment to defense.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to believe,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;I think our defense was way better today, and I think we attacked the paint. Those two things are key, and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve got to bring to San Francisco.&rdquo;
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Warriors got back into the game in the fourth quarter thanks to a young lineup featuring 22-year-old Jordan Poole and 19-year-old rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. That trio, along with Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee, cut a 29-point deficit to eight points in the first 8:38 of the fourth quarter before Curry and the starters began to return.
The Mavericks closed it out from there but the flashes from the young group could earn them more time. Kuminga hadn't played at all the previous two games before scoring 17 points in just under 22 minutes in Game 4.
&ldquo;It was great because they had an opportunity to go out there and make their presence felt, impact the game, build some confidence and some experience in this series and what it feels like to be out there,&rdquo; Curry said.
ROLLER COASTER
It's been a up-and-down series for Dallas' Reggie Bullock and getting the best version of him will be key if the Mavericks want to stay alive. Bullock made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points in a Game 2 loss before becoming the fifth player since at least 1968 to take at least 10 shots and score no points in a playoff game.
Bullock responded in Game 4 by making 6 of 10 3-pointers and scoring 18 points. That took pressure off Doncic, along with bounce-back performances from Dorian Finney-Smith, who had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Maxi Kleber, who went 5 for 6 for 13 points after missing 12 of 14 shots the first three games.
&ldquo;We just made shots and we also was getting stops, so we got the chance to play a little faster, and we got them open shots early in the shot clock and not like end of the shot clock trying to shoot a bomb,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
TALL TASK
No team has ever rallied from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series in NBA history and even getting it back to Dallas for Game 6 would be rare. Of the 146 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead, 90 finished off the series with a sweep with 42 more winning it in five. With a win Thursday, the Mavs would be the 12th team to force a Game 6 and only three teams have gotten to a Game 7 before losing.

The Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.

Warriors look to close out Mavs and get back to NBA Finals

There are few certainties in life.
Death. Taxes. And Dorian Finney-Smith corner threes.
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Death, taxes&hellip;and a Dorian Finney-Smith corner three. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/meTTIRgc18">pic.twitter.com/meTTIRgc18</a>
&mdash; Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1501718770460602369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When Finney-Smith entered the league six years ago, the Dallas Mavericks wing was told that the corner three is the easiest shot in the NBA and that he&rsquo;d &ldquo;make a lot of money" if he could knock it down consistently. &nbsp; &ldquo;I was already playing into the corner my rookie year, and once I realized how many corner threes I was going to get, I just worked on it,&rdquo; Finney-Smith told BasketballNews.com in a one-on-one conversation.
He laughs, as if he's just now realizing that it has become his trademark shot. Then, he shouts out the former teammate who helped his corner three become so deadly.
&ldquo;Wesley Matthews was a good vet for me. He was always telling me that I needed to get that (corner three) shot down pat if I wanted to be on the court," Finney-Smith said. "And I did!"
He would spend the next few years focused, head down, determined to prove he belonged in the league. He developed into a reliable shooter and perfected the corner three, just as Matthews advised.
This season, Finney-Smith shot 46.1% on corner threes &mdash; a huge improvement from his rookie year, when he shot just 26.3% from that spot. During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, he's been even better, knocking down 52.5% of his corner threes.
&ldquo;I had the confidence that I could shoot. I shot the ball well in college, it just ain&rsquo;t translated the first couple of years in the NBA,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
He knew there was only one way to get his shot back: stay in the gym and work.
&ldquo;Repetition builds confidence," Finney-Smith explained. "Also, I think my teammates seeing how hard I worked, it also built confidence in them. The ones who have been here with me throughout this journey &mdash; like Maxi [Kleber], Dwight [Powell], Luka [Doncic] &mdash; I think they see the work I put in and that also gives them confidence to give the ball to me in late-game situations.
&ldquo;Guys see the work you put in; they can tell if you've been in the gym or if you been BSing, and I built confidence with those guys, especially Luka, to pass me the ball in those clutch situations. They have trust in me, even when I miss it.&rdquo;
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Finney-Smith also earned the trust of Dallas' front office. After playing his best basketball and helping the Mavs win a lot of games (in the regular season and now in the playoffs), Finney-Smith is getting the recognition he deserves. The undrafted baller from Portsmouth, Virginia, was also rewarded with the biggest payday of his career.
In early February &mdash; six years after signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Mavs &mdash; Doe-Doe (as he is affectionately called) signed a four-year contract extension worth a reported $55 million. After earning $4,000,000 this season, he'll reportedly be paid $12,402,000 next year.
He has played his way into a starting role and into the hearts of MFFL&rsquo;s, becoming one of the fan favorites. Finney-Smith has established himself as an integral piece of the Mavs' future after averaging a career-high 11.0 points along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 threes, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals (while shooting 47.1% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range).
During the postseason, he has elevated his game to a higher level. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, Finney-Smith finished with a playoff-career-best 24 points (on 8-12 shooting from three) and 8 rebounds. He became just the third player in Dallas' franchise history to make at least 8 three-pointers in game, joining Maxi Kleber (8 threes against the Utah Jazz on April 18, 2022) and Jason Terry (9 threes against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8, 2011 &mdash; exactly 11 years to the day).
On Tuesday night, with the Mavs down 0-3 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, he helped lead Dallas to victory with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 threes and 2 assists while shooting 69.2% from the field and 57.1% from three.
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The underrated 3-and-D specialist opened up to BasketballNews.com about this Mavs team, his happy place, his experience going undrafted, what talent he wishes he had and much more.&nbsp;
In your own words, how did the Mavs get here &mdash; to the Western Conference Finals?
Dorian Finney-Smith: "Just by staying together. Early in the year, we weren&rsquo;t shooting the ball as well as we wanted to. I feel like we just stuck with it. We didn&rsquo;t blame nobody else; we looked inward and we took accountability as a team. And shout out to the coaches: J-Kidd, he did a good job of making us hold each other accountable. All those close games that we were in the last couple of years, I feel like this year we made that step &mdash; finishing the game the right way."
After going undrafted, what allowed you to keep going mentally? And who's been in your corner?
Finney-Smith: "I have a big family. [The answer is] them. My kid&rsquo;s mom (Jasmine).
"I always felt like when I first made the team, I just wanted to get on the court. And once I got on the court, I just wanted to make sure I showed everyone I belonged. Once I started playing on the regular, I just always wanted my presence to be felt, even if I was making or missing shots."
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Did you ever think that playing in the NBA wasn&rsquo;t going to happen for you? Did you ever get down on yourself?
Finney-Smith: "Nah. Nah. Hell nah. I never got down. I was a little mad I didn't get what I wanted on my first deal. I played a whole lot, then I started&hellip; just me being&hellip; At times, it was a little frustrating just because I&rsquo;m human."
Who are you closest to on the team?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "Trey Burke, Reggie [Bullock]. Actually, we all pretty much hang out together. We are a close-knit team; even Luka comes and kicks it with us. This is probably the closest Mavs team I've been on. When I first got here, I had an older team: Devin Harris, JJ [Barea], Dirk [Nowitzki]."
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Finney-Smith: "Quiet. Or with the kids playing around. When I am not on the court, I am quiet."
What living person do you admire most?
Finney-Smith: "My mom because of her resiliency, and how she never let what she was going through show."
What talent would you most like to have?
Finney-Smith: "I wish I could sing. If I could sing, I probably&hellip; woo&hellip; I would sing all the time. I would sing myself out of trouble. (laughs)"
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "I don&rsquo;t know. God gave me everything I got for a reason, so nothing."
What drives you? What&rsquo;s your motivation?
Finney-Smith: "I would say fear of failure. Coming from where I came from, a small city, I always grew up around a whole bunch of 'I used to be' or 'what I could have done' stuff like that, so I am just trying to make the most of my opportunity because I know a lot of people may never get this opportunity or the chance to even get this opportunity."
Who is your favorite WNBA team and player?
Finney-Smith: "The (Dallas) Wings. Elizabeth Williams (of the Washington Mystics) is my favorite player. She is from Virgina; we both came out together in high school. She&rsquo;s a Virginia girl."
Who or what is the greatest love(s) of your life?
Finney-Smith: "My kids or my mom."
If you died and could come back as anything or anyone, what would it be and why?
Finney-Smith: "A lion. 'Lion King' is my favorite movie, and I love lions."
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reggie-bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Dorothy J. Gentry's exclusive interview with Dallas Mavericks wing Reggie Bullock</a> as well.
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Dorian Finney-Smith opens up about his breakout season, the Dallas Mavericks' playoff run, going undrafted, his happy place and more.

Dorian Finney-Smith Q&A: 'This is the closest Mavs team I've been on'

Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday night to avoid being swept in the Western Conference finals.
It was the 10th double-double in his 14 games this postseason for Doncic, who also had nine assists and got some help from his supporting cast to extend this series. He had 40 points in Game 3, when Reggie Bullock shot 0 for 10 shooting with seven misses from 3-point range.
Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points and Bullock had 18 on 6-of-10 shooting &mdash; all 3-pointers. Jalen Brunson had 15 points. The Mavs were 20 of 43 on 3-pointers.
The loss snapped the Warriors&rsquo; nine-game winning streak in Western Conference finals games, though they are still firmly in control of this series headed back to California for Game 5 on Thursday night.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and returned to the game with 3:22 left &mdash; his first appearance in the fourth quarter &mdash; after the Warriors had cut a 29-point deficit to 110-102. But they never got closer even with Curry and other starters returning to the floor.
Doncic then drove for a dunk and Bullock made his sixth 3-pointer.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Only three of the 146 teams to fall in that deep hole have even been able to force a seventh game.&nbsp;
Jonathan Kuminga had 17 points and Andrew Wiggins 13 points for the Warriors, who had seven players score in double figures.
There was even a 16-minute rain delay, when the start of the second half was held up because of rain leaking through the roof at American Airlines Center. There was heavy rain outside, and there were at least two leaks. One was dropping water near the Golden State bench, and at the other end of the court water appeared to be falling in the stands.
A 3-pointer by Doncic put the Mavs up 81-56 with 6:57 left in the third quarter, their largest lead to that point.
Draymond Green was fouled on the ensuing Golden State possession, and his first free throw attempt stopped on the wide back side of the rim. After Doncic and Green stood in the lane together laughing about that, before the ball was eventually knocked down, Green then missed the second attempt as well, though that one just didn&rsquo;t go through the rim and was rebounded by Doncic.
Dallas went ahead to stay with a 25-6 run over a nearly 7-minute span of the second quarter during which the Warriors missed nine of 10 shots and had two turnovers.
Golden State was up 31-29 after a jumper by Moses Moody, then had only one made basket the next seven minutes. A 3-pointer by Davis Bertans put the Mavericks in the lead for good.
The Mavericks had a 62-47 halftime after Doncic drove for a hard layup, responding to Curry&rsquo;s basket at the other end.&nbsp;

Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday night to avoid the sweep.

Doncic, Mavs avoid sweep with 119-109 win over Warriors

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have won nine consecutive games in the Western Conference finals.
They can make it an even 10, eliminate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a victory in Game 4 in Dallas on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to fast forward,&rdquo; Curry said after a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-klay-thompson-2f6a0c58ab25f6512ffe1f090224f272">109-100 victory in Game 3</a> for a 3-0 series lead. &ldquo;We can play better, but we&rsquo;re finding ways to win games. There&rsquo;s no expectation other than what&rsquo;s the challenge ahead of us, and the challenge now is to close out a series against a really good team to get back to an opportunity to win the Finals.&rdquo;
The Warriors haven't lost in the West finals since erasing a 3-2 deficit to Houston in 2018, when they won the last of their three titles in four years by beating Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Golden State swept Portland for a fifth consecutive trip to the Finals in 2019 before losing in six games to Toronto.
The Mavericks are playing beyond the first round for the first time since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-milwaukee-bucks-brooklyn-nets-nba-7e323815c5abcc72eefbad4c6a6b2f36">first-year coach Jason Kidd</a> was the point guard on the Dirk Nowitzki-led team that won the 2011 title.
Dallas was down 2-0 to top-seeded Phoenix in the West semifinals before winning twice as the home team took the first six games. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-dallas-mavericks-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-1e6827985892edd105afa343820edddb">The Mavs stunned the Suns</a> with a 33-point victory in Game 7 in Phoenix, putting Doncic a year ahead Nowitzki's schedule in reaching his first conference finals.
Golden State rallied from 19 points down to win Game 2 at home before erasing a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes of the first half in Game 3 &mdash; and ending any hope of Dallas repeating its Phoenix feat.
Instead of winning four out of five, the Mavericks have to win the last four games of the series. No NBA team has done that.
Doncic scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, but a desperate Dallas rally never gained traction. The young superstar masked a mediocre first half by hitting a 32-footer at the first-quarter buzzer.
&ldquo;I think the first two quarters I played very bad. That&rsquo;s on me,&rdquo; Doncic said after the Mavs fell to 2-6 in three playoff years when their All-Star scored at least 40. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m still learning. I think after this season is done, whatever we are, I think we&rsquo;re going to look back and learn a lot of things. I&rsquo;m 23, man. I&rsquo;m still learning a lot.&rdquo;
Doncic also learned what it's like to be on the wrong end of a moment that will live forever on highlight reels.
The three-time All-Star who is used to sending defenders stumbling with crossover and step-back moves was posterized on a dunk by Andrew Wiggins.
Yes, the same Wiggins was who criticized by some after being chosen as an All-Star starter in his first appearance this year. He got the nod over Doncic, who started the season poorly by his standards because of issues with weight and conditioning.
That wasn't Wiggins' only dunk on his way to a playoff career-high 27 points, and he had another off one of his six offensive rebounds, just one fewer than Dallas had as a team.
The 2014 No. 1 overall pick also has been one of the primary defenders on Doncic in a multifaceted scheme that has limited Dallas' career triple-double leader to five assists per game &mdash; three below his career playoff average.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fantastic two-way player,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t win in the playoffs without guys like Wiggs. We&rsquo;re basically mirroring Doncic&rsquo;s minutes so that Wiggs can stay on him and he&rsquo;s another guy like Steph who just never seems to get tired. He&rsquo;s in amazing shape.&rdquo;
The Mavericks are in bad shape in this series because they've been outscored on average 62-47 in the second half. Part of the reason is the inconsistency of Doncic's supporting cast.
In Game 3, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 of Dallas' 28 bench points after the Mavs' reserves were outscored 36-13 in Game 2. But key 3-point specialists Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Reggie Bullock combined for just nine points &mdash; all of them from Finney-Smith after Kleber and Bullock missed all 12 of their 3s and all 15 of their shots overall.
Pardon the Mavs if they sounded a bit defeated, knowing the history of 3-0 deficits.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in a battle, you&rsquo;re not thinking about the big picture,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;But as we reflect this summer, whenever that starts, we&rsquo;ll understand what we did and how we can get better. And that&rsquo;s the blessing of this whole thing is, we truly believe we belong here.&rdquo;
For now, the Mavs have to believe they can prolong things.
&nbsp;

The Warriors look to eliminate the Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a win in Game 4.

Curry, Warriors go for sweep of Doncic, Mavs in West finals

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Andrew Wiggins added 27 while posterizing Luka Doncic on a dunk and the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 Sunday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Klay Thompson scored 19 with a pair of big fourth-quarter 3-pointers as the Warriors moved within a victory of a return to the NBA Finals, three years after the end of a run of five consecutive trips that yielded three championships.
Golden State, which swept Portland in its most recent West finals in 2019 before Toronto won the title, goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Tuesday in Dallas. No team has rallied from 3-0 down to win an NBA playoff series.
Doncic scored 40 and beat the first-quarter buzzer with a 32-footer that got the crowd going with the Mavericks again at home trailing 2-0, as they did against top-seeded Phoenix before winning the West semifinal series in seven games.
But that shimmy-inducing bucket was a blip on an otherwise rough night from 3-point range for the Mavericks, who missed their first seven and finished 13 of 45.
Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber, two long-range specialists for Dallas, missed all 12 of their 3s combined and were 0-15 overall. Both went scoreless, offsetting Spencer Dinwiddie's 26 points off the bench. Jalen Brunson scored 20.
Wiggins' dunk over Doncic was originally ruled an offensive foul midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors challenged, and the ruling was Wiggins' elbow to Doncic was incidental contact, giving Golden State a 93-83 lead.
About a minute later, Wiggins, who had 11 rebounds, moved quickly down the right baseline for a follow dunk on a miss by Curry as the Warriors extended their NBA record with a 26th consecutive series in which they won at least one road game.
One of Dinwiddie's 3-pointers got Dallas within five points with 1:15 remaining, but Jordan Poole answered with one from the left wing just inside the final minute.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
The most tense moment of the series came late in the first half after <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1528557592779165697?s=20&amp;t=cABubKSbS8jV6RFWmjglSw">a corner 3 from Curry capped an 8-0 run</a> that put the Warriors in front by a point and helped them to a 48-47 halftime lead. And it left Curry confused.
Curry ran the length of the court with his tongue hanging out after Dallas called timeout. As he circled back toward his bench, Curry walked by Doncic with teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson nearby.
Doncic appeared to take issue with something Toscano-Anderson said and started toward the Golden State bench before officials along with coaches and players from both teams intervened. Meantime, Draymond Green and injured Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr. exchanged unpleasantries about 45 feet apart.
After the timeout, Curry could been seen saying, &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo; and approached Doncic to talk about it. The exchange ended with Green as the peacemaker with Doncic.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Green got a technical foul, his second of the series, after an extended conversation with official Marc Davis when he was called for a backcourt violation when he hurriedly tried to step back over the midcourt line to catch a long, unexpected pass from Curry. The crowd was howling for a technical and finally got it. Seconds later, Green was called for his first foul and didn't like the call. But he directed his complaint at his own bench instead of the officiating crew. ... Otto Porter Jr., who averaged 10.5 points on 82% shooting the first two games, limped to the locker room in the first half and was ruled out with left foot soreness.
Mavericks: <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1528536430280065024?s=20&amp;t=cABubKSbS8jV6RFWmjglSw">Bullock won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar social justice award</a>. He has been active in the LGBTQ+ community. His sister, a transgender woman, was killed in 2014. Bullock worked with several organizations in the Dallas area after signing as a free agent in the offseason and has long been active in similar pursuits in his native North Carolina. ... Dorian Finney-Smith got a technical early in the second half for an elbow to the back of Green after a made Dallas free throw.

Behind big games from Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Golden State Warriors took a 3-0 series lead over Dallas.

Curry, Warriors take 3-0 lead on Mavericks with 109-100 win

Luka Doncic didn&rsquo;t have another &ldquo;believe&rdquo; in him with the Mavericks facing a 2-0 deficit for a second consecutive series.
Not that the Dallas superstar doesn&rsquo;t believe. There&rsquo;s just a difference after&nbsp;losing a 19-point lead against title-tested Stephen Curry&nbsp;and the Golden State Warriors.
The Mavericks are headed home to try to stay in the Western Conference finals after they beat championship-less Chris Paul and Phoenix four times in five games, starting in Dallas, to get there. Game 3 against Golden State is Sunday night.
If Dallas is going to repeat what Doncic said he believed his team could pull off against the top-seeded Suns, it&rsquo;ll start with defense. The Mavericks got 42 points from their All-Star guard, but they quit defending the Warriors when the shots stopped falling.
Golden State shot 61% in the second half of a 126-117 victory &mdash; 79% in the fourth quarter, almost matching Phoenix from Game 2 in the West semifinals &mdash; as Dallas fell to 2-5 in Doncic&rsquo;s three playoff seasons when he scores at least 40.
&ldquo;We play defense when we play offense, and we play no defense when we can&rsquo;t score,&rdquo; Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something that we have to get better at this time of the year. You can get away with it in the regular season.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s a little something about offense Kidd wants the Mavericks to understand too. Always reliant on 3-point shooting, Dallas took its big lead because those shots were going in.
When the 3s stopped falling in the third quarter, Doncic and company kept shooting them. He missed a pair and Reggie Bullock was off on all three of his as Dallas ended up 2 of 13 from deep while a 14-point halftime lead was cut to two.
&ldquo;We got to attack the paint more, like they did,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;They attacked the paint a lot. They have two of the best shooters in the world, and they still attack the paint.&rdquo;
Curry did his thing with 32 points while fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson had another relatively quiet night with 15 points &mdash; except for two driving dunks after halftime.
When the Warriors didn&rsquo;t have free runs to the basket, center Kevon Looney was often waiting underneath. His career-high 21 points, regular season or playoffs, helped the Warriors to a 62-30 advantage in the paint, the most points the Mavericks have allowed inside in the postseason.
With 12 rebounds, Looney became the first Golden State center since Robert Parish in 1977 to have at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game, according to StatMuse.
&ldquo;Playing center for the Warriors, it&rsquo;s a different type of job from other teams,&rdquo; Looney said. &ldquo;A lot of the scoring and stuff, we don&rsquo;t really need us to do. I&rsquo;m going to remember that stat, so I can tell somebody else about it.&rdquo;
The Mavericks found a way to limit the efficiency of Deandre Ayton after a big game from the Suns center in the opener of that series.
The growing ineffectiveness of Dwight Powell (zero points, two rebounds in eight minutes in Game 2) has forced Dallas to go small. The Mavericks can&rsquo;t keep doing it if they can&rsquo;t limit Looney, who had five offensive rebounds and helped offset a dud from Draymond Green (minus-19 before fouling out with six points).
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the guys that no one writes about or talks about,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;But we understand the impact he has on the game of giving those guys second or third opportunities.&rdquo;
Golden State is 14-1 when leading a series 2-0 since Kerr took over in 2014-15. It is two wins from a return to the NBA Finals after the last of five consecutive appearances in 2019. The Warriors are in control because they won when trailing by as many as 19 for the first time in these playoffs.
&ldquo;Hopefully this is a game that we can kind of put in our back pocket and remember because there&rsquo;s a good chance we&rsquo;ll be in this situation again,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;This is a team that is explosive and you&rsquo;re dealing with one of the great players in the game who can create for himself and others, and it will be a hard series.&rdquo;

The Mavericks overcame an 0-2 deficit to beat the Suns in the last round. Can they do the same against the experienced Warriors?

Can the Mavericks climb out of an 0-2 hole once again?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic was dominating, yelling in celebration and flexing his arms in Stephen Curry&rsquo;s house.
Then Curry and the Golden State Warriors delivered one of those signature third-quarter flurries that have defined so many of their postseason runs &mdash; with this one being sparked by Kevon Looney.
Just like that, they&rsquo;re two wins away from getting back to another NBA Finals.
Curry scored 32 points with six 3-pointers and eight more rebounds, Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Warriors rallied past the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
&ldquo;I feel honored just to be a part of the ride,&rdquo; Looney said.
Doncic scored 42 points and the Mavericks led most of the way before the Warriors took their first lead of the night on Otto Porter Jr.&rsquo;s 3-pointer 18 seconds into the fourth.
Doncic had 18 points in the first quarter &mdash; two shy of his 20-point Game 1 total. His 3-pointer with 13 seconds before halftime &mdash; the Mavs&rsquo; 15th of the first half &mdash; made it 72-58 at the break and gave him 24 points.
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&ldquo;Against someone that good you&rsquo;re just trying to limit some of the easy stuff,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Doncic even got a Twitter shoutout from&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/MCHammer/status/1527835832458960898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland&rsquo;s own MC Hammer</a>: &ldquo;Ok young Luka &hellip; We see you.&rdquo;
But Golden State answered with a 25-13 third quarter to pull to 85-83 going into fourth &mdash; coming out of halftime with a performance reminiscent of those thrilling third quarters of past.
&ldquo;We know how good they are as a third-quarter team,&rdquo; Dallas forward Reggie Bullock said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just something that slipped away from us as the game continued to go on.&rdquo;
Doncic shot 12 for 23 and shined in a game of brilliant shotmaking &mdash; the Warriors finished 56.1% from the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas edged Golden State 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% from 3-point range.
The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday. Golden State is two wins from a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since making five straight trips from 2015-19.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re on the road against one of the best teams in the league. It happens. They held serve,&rdquo; Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen this in Phoenix so now we have to go back and just focus on Game 3.&rdquo;
Jordan Poole scored 23 points off the bench, Andrew Wiggins had 16 and Klay Thompson &mdash; held scoreless in the first half of the series opener &mdash; added 15 points for a second straight game. Golden State scored 62 points in the paint.
Jalen Brunson scored eight of the first 14 Dallas points on the way to 31. The Mavericks didn&rsquo;t have to see as much of Draymond Green, who picked up his fifth foul with 6:01 left in the third, then returned with 6:33 left before fouling out with 2:25 to go.
The teams tangled with 8:03 left in the second quarter in front of the Dallas bench. Warriors reserve Damion Lee closed out as Davis Bertans hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Bertans tripped Lee and sent him in a flip hard to the floor. Lee had to be held back by official Eric Lewis.
The players were issued double technicals.
In Game 1 two days earlier, Doncic faced smothering defense from Wiggins and shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep. Kidd expected a far better outing in Game 2.
Golden State continued to push the pace and committed 16 turnovers after 15 in the opener.
RELIABLE LOONEY
Moved back into the starting lineup for the clinching Game 6 of the semifinals against Memphis, Looney shot 10 for 14 after making all five of his field goals in Game 1.
He notched his second career postseason double-double.
&ldquo;Tonight was my night to make a big difference and I just stepped up,&rdquo; Looney said.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas led by as many as 16 in the opening quarter. ... The Mavs were outrebounded again at 43-30 after a 51-35 disadvantage in Game 1. They committed one fewer turnovers with 12 after Doncic had seven in the series opener. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to take care of the ball because the Warriors once you turn the ball over, they&rsquo;re gone, and a lot of times it&rsquo;s an open 3,&rdquo; Kidd said beforehand.
Warriors: G Gary Payton II &mdash; who broke his left elbow on a hard foul when Memphis star Dillon Brooks clobbered him May 3 on a fast break for a Flagrant 2, ejection and one-game suspension &mdash; is doing light individual work on court that includes shooting with his non-dominant right hand and will be re-evaluated in a week. ... F Andre Iguodala missed his ninth straight game with a disc injury in his neck is continuing his rehab with physical therapy and training in the weight room with some light on-court work. The Warriors said they will provide an update when he&rsquo;s cleared to practice. ... Golden State improved to 8-0 at home this postseason and is 18-5 in Game 2s dating to the 2015 title run. ... Green was voted to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;Steph is the best-conditioned athlete in this game, he never stops moving.&rdquo; -- Kidd
</div>

The Golden State Warriors rallied from an early deficit to take their second straight win in the Western Conference Finals.

Steph Curry, Warriors rally past Mavs for 2-0 lead in West finals

The energy in The Bay was palpable, a crowd starved for its team's first Western Conference Finals berth since 2019. The dominant rule of this Golden State dynasty had been rudely interrupted by a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, a slew of untimely injuries and a superstar migrating across the country to skyscraping lands. Even the Chase Center flooring glimmered in anticipation.
The only thing that gleamed more was the twinkle in the eye of the Warriors' team defense.
The Warriors faced a new challenge in the West Finals, going from containing the quick-twitch athleticism strewn across the Memphis Grizzlies' roster to now containing the pick-and-roll craftsmanship of Luka Doncic, arguably the best player of the 2022 postseason. Luka's a nightmare to deal with, to say the least. He can attack your bigs or smalls on switches in isolation. He makes passes that only a select few across the globe can make should he even gain the slightest bit of an advantage. Most of all, he's a true-blue three-level scorer, geared up with step-back threes, post-ups with Dirk Nowitzki-legged fadeaways, sikly floaters and elongated layups at his disposal.&nbsp;
Containing a player of that ilk is not as simple as just throwing one perimeter player his way and hoping for the best. And while Luka's primary defender, Andrew Wiggins, did an admirable job on Wednesday of holding Doncic to 4-of-10 shooting, it was Golden State's medley of defensive coverages that kept Dallas at bay during the 25-point evisceration.&nbsp;
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Steve Kerr's crew threw out six different coverages in the first half &mdash; blitzes, hedge-and-recovers, a shallow drop coverage, pick-and-roll switches, a 3-2 zone and even a Box-and-1 &mdash; to stifle Dallas' second-ranked playoff half-court offense to a crawl. Golden State's coordinated chaos worked effectively, as Dallas put up just 78.8 points per 100 possessions in the half-court during Game 1 (10th percentile, yikes!), well below the 101.3 Offensive Rating that Dallas normally averages in this setting.&nbsp;
We'll touch on a few of those coverages momentarily, but it was Golden State's zone looks that were particularly interesting. The Mavericks haven't seen a ton of zones this postseason, especially coming off a series against the Phoenix Suns that featured mostly drop coverage or the occasional switch with Deandre Ayton manning the middle.
Interestingly, Golden State aligned its 3-2 zone so that Stephen Curry was atop the formation, meaning that he was typically Luka Doncic's primary defender. This goes against conventional thinking; normally, you'd expect the Warriors to hide Curry in the corners on one of Dallas' non-threatening options (think: how Miami deployed Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro in the 2020 postseason) instead of guarding the best mismatch-hunter on the floor. The Warriors, however, felt confident about shuttling defensive possessions to Curry at the point-of-attack, trusting their superstar to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stephen-currys-defense-continues-to-shine-for-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">utilize his best defensive attribute</a> &mdash; his quick hands&mdash; to frustrate Maverick ball-handlers.
Of course, it helps with Wiggins and Draymond Green situated at the nearby wings, able to sink down and contain should Doncic bullrush his way past the slighter Curry. That's exactly what happened during this first-quarter possession below; Curry bothered Doncic's dribble by sticking in an arm, and when Doncic gathered himself and prepared his attack, Wiggins provided assistance at the nail to erase the driving lane and coerce the kick out. Jalen Brunson, of course, misses the spot-up three (a trend on Wednesday night), and Golden State gets its desired result from the 3-2 zone.
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There's some irony in the Warriors &mdash; the same team that once complained about Toronto's "junk defenses" in the 2019 NBA Finals &mdash; throwing out Box-and-1s to fluster Dallas' heliocentric offense. And yet, a minute later, Golden State busted out that janky look, with Curry, Jordan Poole, Green, and Otto Porter Jr. spread across the lane lines to form the "box," and Wiggins smothering Luka from basically the mid-court line.
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When Maxi Kleber comes to set a screen for Doncic, Poole and Wiggins trap Luka and use the sideline as a third defender to force the pass. Dallas hot-potatoes the ball across the perimeter, frantically searching for a vialble option, and eventually the Mavs are left with a 27-foot three from Kleber. A result the Warriors will live with.
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The Mavericks mustered up just 18 total points in the first quarter, which effectively set the tone for the rest of Game 1. Looking ahead after the brutal loss, it begs the question: Where can the Mavericks go next?
Well, there's the obvious answer, for one: Make more friggin' threes. Duh. The Mavericks whiffed on 37 of their 48 total outside looks, with some of those misses being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT-vnjKYwf0&amp;ab_channel=MattBrooksNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pretty dang brutal</a>. But there's more to the game than just blindly hoping for better results.
Thinning Out the Hedges
As mentioned, one of the coverages that Golden State threw at Luka was hedging and recovering on pick-and-rolls. Typically, this was done when Doncic and the Mavericks looked to target Curry in screening actions. Dallas would have Curry's defender &mdash; Reggie Bullock in the first clip; Spencer Dinwiddie in the second&mdash;set a screen on Luka's defender, Wiggins.
Rather than having Curry switch outright onto Doncic, Steph would instead jump out toward the 6-foot-8 ball-handler to buy Wiggins time as he recovered back to his assignment. Though it goes in, a tightly contested step-back three &mdash; which Luka is shooting just 32.1% on in the postseason &mdash; is a result the Warriors can stomach, especially with one of its smallest defenders (Curry) involved in the play.
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Thus, going at Curry with a slew of straight pick-and-rolls wasn't particularly profitable in Game 1. Golden State is too experienced, too disciplined and too even-tempered to be caught off-guard by opponents repeatedly targetting its superstar. After all, that's been the game plan since, what, 2015? Steph is well-versed in evading such narrow offensive game planning.
But Dallas has some unexplored avenues.
One such way could be to mix in more slips to the rim. Below, after Golden State pre-switches to initially neutralize the Doncic-Bullock pick-and-roll, Luka calls for a second screen from Brunson to bring Curry into the fold. When Steph hedges, Brunson then cuts to the rim instead of flaring out to the perimeter. And although the possession is smothered by Draymond Green audibling a switch with Curry and playing some free safety (goodness was he ever incredible in Game 1!), Dallas was able to get two feet into the middle of the paint to make decisions.&nbsp;
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Flipping the angle of the screen at the very last second, which is something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grizzlies-flattening-out-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies did against the Warriors</a> in the second round, is a counter yet to be tested by the Mavericks' offense. When Dallas did elect to re-screen in Game 1, it was only because the initial screen failed to connect.&nbsp;
Dallas could also add some intricacy to its pick-and-rolls by forcing Golden State to navigate secondary screens. Screen-the-screener (STS) plays were, once again, something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/memphisminnesota-game-5-was-a-masterclass-in-playcalling-wizardry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies tinkered with</a> in the earlier rounds of the postseason, and forcing Curry to navigate an off-ball screen before being dragged into a ball-screen for Luka could put him behind the play, thus throwing off the timing of his hedge.
All Doncic needs is a moment of hesitation to create for himself or others, so mixing in each of the following&mdash; re-screens, slips to the rim, ram screens and/or STS plays and straight pick-and-roll&mdash;to keep the Warriors on pins and needles could prove to make the difference going forward.
Sniffing Out the Proper Switches
So yes, scoping out Curry on pick-and-roll-induced switches didn't go as planned for Dallas in Game 1 given his comfort level with hedging those plays into oblivion; but that's not to say that Dallas failed to get any sort of traction when Golden State swapped assignments after ball screens.
Here's something that should keep Mavericks fans up at night: Dallas was hunting the wrong Warrior guard. Poole was tested by both of Dallas' secondary and tertiary options (Brunson and Dinwiddie), and he looked like a fish out of water on switches. Collectively, Dinwiddie and Brunson went 2-for-3 from the field when defended by Poole in Game 1.
Dinwiddie is both too tall and too quick to be even slightly bothered by Golden State's prolific 22-year-old, and Brunson's veteran craft left Poole stumbling. Jalen's portfolio of pump-fakes, B-Boy dancer pivots and up-and-unders was one hell of a handful for the third-year player.
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Even when Golden State attempted to hide Poole with hedges, he just wasn't disciplined enough to masterfully pull off this coverage with regularity. Here, he "shows" (or hedges) way, way too high up the floor against Brunson, who has yet to burn Golden State with pull-up threes, and Poole ends up getting flamb&eacute;d in isolation.
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Dallas' one-two punch of Doncic and Brunson also got off some pretty clean looks when served up Kevon Looney on a platter. Look, Looney had himself one hell of a Wednesday evening and was maybe the Game 1 MVP, but his lateral mobility was tested by Dallas' lead options. Take a look for yourself:
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Dallas should continue to hammer this home in the series. Though it's admirable that Looney feels empowered to pick up individual creators of Doncic and Brunson's ilk so high up the floor, his hip flexibility doesn't afford him the requisite oomph when changing directions on either player's array of dribbling moves. Doncic found relative consistency in forcing Golden State rotations and passing to open shooters after beating Looney off the dribble; Brunson, meanwhile, danced and jitterbugged his way to his spots to go 3-of-4 when defended by the Warriors' starting center.
It's integral that Dallas continues to exhaust Curry by involving him in a never-ending loop of pick-and-rolls. The more mileage put on his body defensively, the better. But there's also some value in getting some easy ones against guys like Looney and Poole.
Other notes:
<ul>
<li>Testing Klay Thompson, still fresh off two major injuries, is inherently not a terrible idea. Doing so by posting him up and allowing him to use his strong base and 6-6 frame, however, is not so brilliant. Doncic wasn't able to gain any ground against Golden State's sturdy wing, and the Mavericks would be better suited having the bursty Dinwiddie or even the guileful Brunson go at Thompson in space.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Speaking of Brunson, how often he can make Golden State pay via pull-up threes should be a major theme in the West Finals. Golden State regularly went under ball-screens against Brunson, daring him to shoot, and he responded with a whole bundle of record-scratch moments. Brunson has shot a combined 30.4% on pull-up three-pointers in the regular season and the postseason on just 105 total attempts, and if he continues to feign at chucking them up when the defense drifts underneath screens, Dallas' offense will sludge itself to death.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>The Mavericks are one of those teams where you just wish they'd incorporate a little more movement into their offense. Dallas leaves food on the table with screening actions on the weak side of the floor, and it allows the low man to stay engaged when helping over should Doncic (or Brunson or Dinwiddie) discover a crack in the defense. That's particularly problematic against a team like the Warriors and Green, a hellish secondary defender to tangle with. Notice how Golden State preoccupies Luka, the low man in the clip below, with screening action between Wiggins and Thompson. When Looney slips to the rim, Doncic is late on his rotation because of the ensuing traffic on the weak side.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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It'd be great if Dallas could incorporate some of&nbsp;that&nbsp;stuff into their pick-and-roll heavy offense.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Matt Brooks goes in-depth to break down what the Mavericks can improve on offensively against a stout Warriors defense.

How the Warriors' defense flummoxed Dallas, and where the Mavs go next

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Golden State's defense held Luka Doncic in check, and the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-87 on Wednesday night for a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Doncic scored 20 points but shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep. He made back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half to get his team within 54-45 at the break, but Curry and Klay Thompson helped the Warriors pull away in the second half.
Jalen Brunson scored 14 points but missed all five of his 3s for the surprising Mavs, who stunned the top-seeded Suns in a 123-90 thumping in Game 7 on Sunday in Phoenix.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Friday night at Chase Center, where the raucous, yellow-clad sellout crowd brought back memories of that 2007 &ldquo;We Believe&rdquo; Warriors playoff team that shocked the No. 1-seeded Mavericks in a six-game first-round upset at Oracle Arena.
That helped propel Golden State back to prominence. The Warriors reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015-19 but missed the playoffs the past two years before this run. Now, they're one win closer to getting back to the big stage.
Andrew Wiggins added 19 points, getting Golden State going by making six of his first eight shots on the way to shooting 8 for 17.
Doncic received a scratch across his face early from a first-quarter swipe by Wiggins. The mark went from the bridge of his nose across his right cheek under the eye. Donic also tugged at his troublesome right shoulder that has been taped previously during these playoffs.
Stopping Doncic is the tall task this time after the Warriors already handled two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic in the first round, then Ja Morant early last series before his knee injury.
Curry hit two quick 3s in sparking a 10-2 burst to begin the third for a Golden State squad that eliminated Memphis in a six-game semifinal series. Thompson scored all of his 15 points after halftime, his first of the game on a layup at the 10:22 mark of the third after missing his first four shots.
Curry, last season's scoring champ, missed his initial five 3-point tries &mdash; four in the first &mdash; before connecting with 50 seconds left in the first half when he was 1 for 7. But he got involved other ways by dishing out four assists and grabbing seven rebounds in the first half.
Kevon Looney remained in the starting lineup for Steve Kerr as the coach made his return to the bench after sitting out the final three games against Memphis with COVID-19.
Looney finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists after coming in to start in the Game 6 clincher against the Grizzlies.
Coach Jason Kidd&rsquo;s Mavericks couldn't keep up in a drastic contrast of styles featuring the slow-paced Dallas attack and up-tempo Warriors.
&ldquo;We would like to play our pace but the Warriors have a unique pace, they're going to get out and put a lot of pressure on your defense in transition," Kidd said. "We have to be cautious of that. We don't want a track meet.&rdquo;
MAVS FINED
Dallas received a $50,000 fine by the NBA &mdash; the team's second penalty this postseason &mdash; for &ldquo;team bench decorum&rdquo; during the Suns series after players and a member of the coaching staff remained standing for extended time far enough from the bench area that they were &ldquo;encroaching upon the playing court during game action&rdquo; during Game 7 against the Suns.
&ldquo;Just trying to figure out what we did wrong to get the fine,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;... Who complained? It was a blowout so I don't think the fans were complaining. I thought the guys did what they were supposed to do. They were cheering on their guys.&rdquo;
The previous fine against the Mavs was for $25,000 on May 6.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Reggie Bullock shot just 4 for 12 &mdash; 3 of 10 from long range &mdash; for 12 points. ... The Mavericks were outrebounded 28-18 in the first half as Curry led all players with seven.
Warriors: F Otto Porter Jr. returned after missing Game 6 with soreness in his right foot and contributed 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes, one of seven Warriors to score in double figures. ... Golden State, which averaged 19.2 turnovers per game last series, had six in the first half leading to 11 Dallas points and 15 overall. &ldquo;I'm confident we'll get that straightened out,&rdquo; Kerr said pregame. ... Golden State improved to 7-0 at home this postseason. ... The Warriors are 21-2 in Game 1s since their 2015 title run that ended with the franchise's first championship in 40 years. ...

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was a blowout, as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors won 112-87.

Curry's 21 points, 12 boards lead Warriors in Game 1, 112-87

The Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors couldn't be more different if they tried.
In one corner, you have the #BeautifulGame Warriors. Post splits and cuts galore. Glorious ball movement heightened by the hide-and-seek skills of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. All three can boogie on you to varying degrees, but they're at their best when they're moving targets. You can't defend what you can't stay connected to.
The Warriors with Curry on the court blitzed the league to the tune of <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=201939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">116.0 points per 100 possessions</a> during the regular season, a mark that would've led the NBA. In the 129 minutes that Curry, Poole and Thompson <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=201939,202691,1629673" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared the floor</a>, that number rose to 125.6.
On the other end, you have the methodical Mavericks. Luka Doncic leads the dance &mdash; he slightly trailed Joel Embiid for the NBA's usage rate title (37.5% to 36.8%), and is blowing away everyone this postseason (39.3%). While the Warriors dice you up with cuts and movement, the Mavericks make you pick your poison with countless ball-screens.
There&nbsp;is&nbsp;variety in the Dallas half-court attack. You'll see pindowns, stagger sets and Veer action for Reggie Bullock, for example. Even with those ball-screens, they'll flow between traditional high pick-and-rolls, Spain pick-and-rolls and sets that include an exit screen to further place strain on help defenders. A quick example:
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That's nasty stuff from Dallas. Bullock as the lone shooter on the weak side to stress Tyrese Maxey as a helper. Jalen Brunson receiving the exit screen from Dorian Finney-Smith to occupy Seth Curry and&nbsp;Tobias Harris. It's a tough scene.
Luka-led offense is elite in its own right. The Mavs generated 115.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor during the regular season &mdash; slightly below the Curry-led figure, but still a number that would've topped the NBA if extrapolated.
Both teams will need to find answers, obviously.
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Dallas found the right blend of switching, soft hedges and all-out traps to stifle the Phoenix Suns' vaunted half-court offense; the Warriors are a different challenge. Golden State has had to deal with a dynamic primary ball-handler already in Ja Morant, but Luka's size and passing ability throws a wrench into that equation.
While both teams approach offense differently, a common ground was found defensively during the regular-season meetings: Hunting the stars.
The Warriors were relentless. Doncic defended 65 picks (16.3 per game) in their meetings, with Golden State generating 1.05 points per possession (PPP) on those trips, per Second Spectrum. Only the Utah Jazz (23.3 per game), funny enough, went after him more frequently.
Curry "only" guarded 57 picks (14.3 per game) as the screener-defender during the regular-season series, with the Mavericks generating 1.00 PPP. The Clippers (12.3), Nets (11.0) and Heat (10.0, one game) were the only other teams to target him more than 10 times per contest.
Keep an eye on those Spain pick-and-rolls from the Mavericks. Well communicated switches are a way to contain the action, but how willing are the Warriors to do that when Bullock &mdash; Curry's likely matchup &mdash; is the back-screener?
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You can see the cat-and-mouse above. It's common for the two perimeter players &mdash; in this case, Curry and Wiggins &mdash; to switch. But because the Warriors don't want to give that, it's a quick stunt-and-recover from Curry. Doncic is able to string it out while maintaining inside leverage on Wiggins, thus drawing the foul on the drive.&nbsp;
If show-and-recover is going to be the move, it'll be up to the Mavs to counter that. Doncic is good enough to drive past or string out that hedge, but there are built-in scheme things to do. With Bullock being a good movement shooter, don't be surprised if we see flare screens for him.
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This is a poor rep, but the template is clear &mdash; make Curry work. If Dwight Powell is able to connect on the flare screen, Bullock should have a open three, especially with Kevon Looney in a drop. If Looney steps up, that should be a drive opportunity for Bullock, or, if Curry switches onto Powell, it should be an opportunity for the ball to swing back to Doncic to set up another ball-screen.
For the Warriors, they may be able to attack that matchup a little cleaner. Doncic was often in a bit of a drop, or outright switched when they went after him. That could open up rolls or slips, particularly if they empty the corner first.
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They may also opt to keep their flow going. Doncic switching onto Curry is one thing; doing so then asking him to track him off ball is another thing entirely. If there's a positive to take from the Suns series, it's that making him navigate multiple actions within a possession can generate some goodness.
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There's plenty to discuss about how these superstars will be defended. Bullock or Finney-Smith will see plenty of Curry. Andrew Wiggins will likely start on Doncic, but we may see some Klay or Draymond Green mixed in.&nbsp;
But the most important battleground of the series is shaping up to be how&nbsp;they&nbsp;guard &mdash; specifically, how they guard each other.&nbsp;
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Nekias Duncan previews this year's Western Conference Finals series between the Warriors and Mavericks.

Star hunting: How defense will determine Warriors-Mavs series outcome

Over the past few seasons, perhaps the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; favorite way to catalyze rhythm for star guard Devin Booker has been a Chicago action.
In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBv686s3kCc&amp;t=24s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago action</a>, a player flows off a pindown screen into a dribble handoff and assesses the options from there.
With Booker flanked by viable spot-up shooters like Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges, a lob threat in Deandre Ayton and a creation release valve in Chris Paul, most opponents struggle mightily to contain the Suns&rsquo; offense out of this play.&nbsp;
The &ldquo;pick your poison&rdquo; adage comes into focus. Sell out to slow Booker on the catch, and he&rsquo;ll deliver a feed to one of the surrounding marksmen. Load up against Ayton&rsquo;s dive and Booker can burrow his way toward a mid-range pull-up. Stay home against shooters, and Booker will loft a pass to Ayton at the rim.&nbsp;
In Game 1 of the second round, the Dallas Mavericks experienced this confounding spectrum. Booker only scored 23 points on 7 of 20 shooting, but he dished 8 dimes to a single giveaway for a 121-114 victory. As Booker conducted possessions out of Chicago action, the Suns routinely carved up Dallas.
In Game 5, when Booker scored 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting in a 110-80 rout, the Mavericks endured similar troubles. Much of the series, whenever he faced single coverage or Dallas failed to neutralize Ayton on the roll, the Suns&rsquo; attack flourished. Letting Booker maneuver into space on those plays, particularly going to his right, is often a death knell for defenses.
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Although Booker&rsquo;s 30-point Game 2 arose more so out of pick-and-rolls, isolations and transition opportunities, Dallas&rsquo; ability (or lack thereof) to slow him in Chicago action proved to be somewhat of a bellwether for its collective success.
Sending a crowd in Booker&rsquo;s direction and mucking up his passing windows can consistently throw him for a loop. The Mavericks tout considerable size, length and mobility on the perimeter, which they applied to flummox the three-time All-Star (and his teammates). His worst outings of the series all stemmed from Dallas barricading the paint, bringing multiple bodies his way and coaxing improvisation out of him.
Utilizing his 6-foot-5 frame, snappy elevation for jumpers and feathery mid-range touch, Booker thrives against single coverage. He&rsquo;s also prone to predetermined reads as a facilitator. By limiting both of those scenarios, Dallas bottled him up. He&rsquo;s developed into a good passer, but a buffer period exists when the opening he seeks out is not there. The Mavericks reliably took away his anticipated choice, and cornered him and the Suns into resetting the offense.
If the lob to Ayton is readily available, he makes it look second-nature; when the lob isn&rsquo;t, possessions begin sticking. In Game 3, Booker took just 13 shots (18 points) throughout his 40 minutes and compiled 6 assists to 5 turnovers. Across Games 6 and 7, he scored 30 points on 40.9% True Shooting and had 5 assists to 12 turnovers.&nbsp;
Dallas extended his initial touch further from the paint, sagged off the shooter to his left and made him reverse course. Rarely did he locate the open teammate on the wing. The Mavericks know that read is a gap in his passing vision and exploited it. Paul&rsquo;s aversion to spot-up triples aided, and likely factored into, their game plan&nbsp; too.&nbsp;
The scouting department and coaching staff deserve massive praise for those tweaks, as do Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith. The former two&rsquo;s mobility and dexterity agitated Booker on the catch and pushed him away from the hoop; the latter two constantly stayed connected amid his off-ball motion and shrunk open space.&nbsp;
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All this defensive precision is a subplot of fashioning an offense so reliant on Luka Doncic&rsquo;s superlatives. The risk is he falters down the stretch in crunch-time of a tight contest. Everyone acknowledges that, and has watched it occur at times.&nbsp;
The positive, though, is how Luka's heliocentric approach preserves energy for everyone else and enables the Mavericks to play the hellacious defense they did for much of the second round (and this year). Had they been tasked with loftier offensive responsibilities, the defensive connectivity and timing may have suffered. Instead, their jobs were straightforward, and the defensive nuances headlined their checklist each night.
In Game 7, Dallas threw the kitchen sink at Booker (as well as at other points in this matchup). Paul clearly lacked the verve to boogie in ball-screens like he customarily would, so Booker emerged as Phoenix&rsquo;s primary offensive creator &mdash; a storyline that bubbled over the course of the series.&nbsp;
To stymie the Suns&rsquo; offense, the Mavericks repeatedly blitzed or trapped Booker and funneled offense to unsuitable decision-makers. Players like Bridges, Crowder and Torrey Craig received passes with Dallas&rsquo; defense still slightly recovering after a show or double-team. None of them proved adept to burn the Mavericks for that gambit.
Booker is an excellent player and a deserving All-Star. He will rightfully make his inaugural All-NBA appearance this season. But Phoenix&rsquo;s offense generally functions at its peak when Paul is orchestrating. Through increasingly applying full-court pressure against the Point God and targeting him on switches defensively, the Mavericks wore him down and disrupted the Suns&rsquo; offensive hierarchy.
Paul and Ayton have fostered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/there-are-no-good-answers-for-the-chris-pauldeandre-ayton-duo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">delightful synergy in pick-and-rolls</a>, while Paul&rsquo;s historically great passing wizardry sets up Bridges, Crowder and Cameron Johnson to work off advantages. Booker is, of course, the superior scorer, yet Dallas quelled his trademark play. In doing so, it thrust his shortcomings under the microscope and dared him to win as an elite decision-maker.&nbsp;
He couldn&rsquo;t, and Booker, along with the 64-win, top-seeded Suns, were sent home far earlier than they envisioned this postseason.
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Jackson Frank digs into what the Mavericks did to stifle Devin Booker and the Suns' offense.

How the Mavericks slowed Devin Booker by forcing him to improvise

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 All-Star.
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&rsquo;s loss to 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.&nbsp;
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-year-old 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 three-point play. ... Bismack Biyombo didn&rsquo;t have the same impact as the replacement for JaVale McGee, who didn&rsquo;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.

Luka Doncic scored 33 points and the Mavericks beat the Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the West semis.

Doncic, Mavericks cruise past Suns 113-86 to force Game 7

Joel Embiid's final line in the box score looked a bit pedestrian compared to his usual MVP numbers. But the Philadelphia 76ers center played Game 3 anyway. With a thumb that needs a surgery. With a broken face. And just days after suffering a concussion.
His mere presence in the lineup changed the 76ers' fortunes in Game 3&nbsp;&mdash; and perhaps their chances against Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 76ers are not only alive but Embiid is well enough to make them 2-point favorites in Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>.
The Heat had some company when it came to dropping Game 3 on the road. Luka Doncic had 26 points and 13 rebounds and helped the Dallas Mavericks get back in their series against the Phoenix Suns with a victory.
The Heat and Suns lead their respective series 2-1.
&ldquo;Down 2-0, I had to do really everything possible to be out there, no matter how I was feeling,&rdquo; Embiid said.
Embiid tightened the 76ers' defense and helped open the lane for Tyrese Maxey and the outside for Danny Green. Both players scored 21 points and showed how everyone on the Sixers benefits with Embid in the lineup. Embiid is playing with a mask because of a right orbital fracture &mdash; and during breaks in action, he constantly lifted the mask and wiped sweat off his face &mdash; in the foreseeable future.
But with the season at stake, Embiid knows how vital he is to a 76ers' championship run. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor in 36 minutes.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think I had a lot of energy, honestly,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was really trying to really get through it. Kind of, you just use my presence out there as a decoy. I feel like I pride myself really defensively. And I feel like that&rsquo;s where my presence is really felt. On the defensive end. So that&rsquo;s one of the main reasons why playing I thought I could have a huge impact.&rdquo;
Embiid's return after sitting out the first two games only added to Miami's misery. The Heat missed 23 of 30 3-point attempts, were outrebounded and had only two players in double-digit scoring.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been like that for his entire career, but that&rsquo;s not really the reason why we lost that game,&rdquo; guard Jimmy Butler said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t get back, we turned the ball over, we didn&rsquo;t get stops, we fouled, there was a lot that went into that, but he is a big part of it.&rdquo;
Dallas ended an 11-game losing streak against Phoenix, regular season included. The Mavericks limited the impact of Devin Booker in much the same way they did Chris Paul. Booker scored 18 but was just 2 of 7 inside the 3-point line. Paul had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the Suns&rsquo; lowest-scoring game of the season. Paul also had seven turnovers.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re up two games and you know they&rsquo;re going to come out and hit you in the mouth, but I thought we could have settled down a little bit more on offense,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said.
HEAT AT 76ERS
Heat lead 2-1 Game 4, Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT, TNT
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The 76ers held Miami to 79 points, the first time a playoff team scored fewer than 80 since the 2012 postseason. Philadelphia held Miami to just 14 points in the final quarter, marking the 10th time since 1980 that the team has held its opponent to 15 or fewer points in the fourth quarter of a postseason game.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Danny Green. He snapped out of a slump in a big way, making 7 of 9 3-pointers and scoring 21 points. The 76ers get offensive production from Tyrese Maxey and James Harden in spurts. A reliable Green could go a long way.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Other than Embiid, Kyle Lowry returned for the Miami Heat after missing four games with a hamstring injury. Lowry missed all four shots and went scoreless in 25 minutes. The Heat had won all four games in Lowry's absence. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to be amazing," Lowry said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect to have zero points.&rdquo;
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Heat. It's impossible not to imagine it could be the Sixers going for the sweep on Sunday had Embiid played in the first two games. But the Heat could still have two more home games in the series and a road win would clearly put them in control of the series. The 76ers haven't advanced out of the second round since 2001.
MAVERICKS AT SUNS
Suns lead 2-1. Game 4, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns fell short of 50% shooting for the first time in the playoffs in Game 3, finishing at 45% to end an eight-game run. They also had a hard time getting shots for Paul and Booker. The pair combined for just 22 shots while two complementary scorers behind Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock, attempted 21 3-pointers and made eight (four apiece).
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Deandre Ayton&rsquo;s numbers were solid in Game 3 (16 points, 11 rebounds), but he wasn&rsquo;t the force that helped the Suns cruise in the series opener. His overall efficiency is down as well. Ayton is shooting 55% against the Mavericks after finishing at 70% in the six-game victory over New Orleans.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Dallas F Maxi Kleber keeps on plugging through physical challenges. He played 32 minutes after a scary fall on his back, shoulders and neck in Game 2. Then he came out of Game 3 with a little shadow under his left eye after a collision when he tried to block a dunk attempt from Mikal Bridges.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Suns don&rsquo;t even want to think about what happened the last time they had a 2-0 lead. It was the NBA Finals last year, when Milwaukee answered with four consecutive wins. Now&rsquo;s the time for the defending West champs to put the Mavericks on the brink of elimination in Dallas&rsquo; first trip past the first round since winning the title 11 years ago.

Joel Embiid's mere presence changed the 76ers' fortunes in Game 3 — and perhaps their chances in this series against Miami Heat.

Joel Embiid's return for 76ers changes dynamic of Heat series

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defensive pressure to get back in their Western Conference semifinal series with Phoenix, beating the Suns 103-94 on Friday night.
The Mavericks spoiled Chris Paul's 37th birthday, forcing the 17-year pro into his most turnovers in any half of a playoff game with seven before the break.
Dallas cut the Suns' series lead to 2-1 and ended an 11-game losing streak against Phoenix, regular season included. Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
Paul didn't have any more turnovers after halftime, but the Suns finally struggled with their shooting when they weren't turning it over. Phoenix shot 45%, ending a run of at least 50% shooting in the playoffs at eight games.
Doncic just missed a triple-double with nine assists, while Jalen Brunson led Dallas with 28 points after struggling in the two losses in Phoenix when Doncic averaged 40 points but didn't get enough help.
Jae Crowder scored 19 for Phoenix, but the Mavericks limited the impacted of Devin Booker in much the same way they did Paul. Booker scored 18 but was just 2 of 7 inside the 3-point line, and Paul had 12 on just nine shots (five made).
A scrambling Dallas defense was the reason, starting from the opening tip with Reggie Bullock shadowing Paul everywhere. The Mavericks stepped into passing lanes, including when Spencer Dinwiddie tiptoed along the sideline after a steal for a layup in transition.
Paul had six turnovers in the first 16 minutes, including one when he simply lost the ball out bounds trying to work his way to the basket. The only Dallas turnover before halftime was an offensive foul on Doncic, who disliked the call enough to <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1522771120272723968?s=20&amp;t=2DJs6StXEo7r10jFWoQXxQ">mimic what he thought were flopping movements</a> by Paul.
Doncic had to leave with his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, and the Suns cut an 18-point deficit earlier in the second half to nine just after he came back.
Brunson answered with free throws to get the lead back to double digits, and the Mavericks got enough stops in their best defensive effort of the series to stay comfortably in front.
The lead was eight when Doncic kept Crowder from getting a steal near midcourt with a minute remaining, leading to a corner 3 with from Bullock, who scored 15. He and Dorian Finney-Smith, who scored 14, had four 3s each.
TIP-INS
Suns: Mikal Bridges was called for a technical foul late in the first half, and Paul got one early in the second. Both came going into timeouts. ... Torrey Craig was out with a right elbow contusion. He played sparingly in the first two games of the series.
Mavericks: Bullock, who spent plenty of time guarding Paul in the first half, was reported as questionable with a rib injury at halftime. ... Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley, a former Dallas assistant, attended the game. Two of his players, Cole Anthony and Wendell Carter Jr., were with him.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks take their first win of the series at home against Phoenix.

Mavs get defensive, top Suns 103-94 for 2-1 series deficit

Philadelphia and Dallas head home trying to stay in conference semifinal series against the top seeds &mdash; the 76ers forced again to play without Joel Embiid against Miami, and the Mavericks waiting for someone to help Luka Doncic against Phoenix.
The Sixers ruled out Embiid on Thursday for Game 3 on Friday night in Philadelphia with the orbital fracture sustained in the first-round clincher against Toronto. The Heat won the first two games with the MVP finalist sidelined. (Editor's Note: Embiid has since been upgraded to doubtful as of Friday afternoon, and could feel comfortable enough to suit up for Game 3 in Philadelphia, per <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1522608908707241985?s=20&amp;t=--wpyE3EkwmkWfua-te3eg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania</a>.)
Dallas coach Jason Kidd repeated himself following a second loss to Chris Paul, Devin Booker and the Suns &mdash; the 11th consecutive defeat for the Mavericks, regular season included, against the team with the NBA's best record.
Game 3 of the Western Conference series is Friday night in Dallas.
&ldquo;He (Doncic) had a great game, but no one else showed,&rdquo; Kidd said after a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-1aea4448d88f9b92c0bbf86ebad8d9c5">129-109 loss in Game 2</a>, sounding about the same as he did two nights earlier following a series-opening 121-114 loss in Phoenix. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night.&rdquo;
James Harden and Tyrese Maxey obviously are missing Embiid, who is also dealing with a thumb injury. The Philly guards couldn't find a way to get a split at Miami, the top seed in the East, without the five-time All-Star.
The Sixers weren't closer than eight points in the fourth quarter of the first two games, and Maxey sees the first quarter as the key to changing that.
&ldquo;When we go home with the crowd on our side, we&rsquo;ve got to hit first,&rdquo; Maxey said after the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-philadelphia-76ers-nba-sports-tobias-harris-26b997a57116cfa80251be70b77c1a59">119-103 loss in Game 2</a>. &ldquo;Coach Doc said something in the locker room before the game about, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s not be a counterpunching team tonight.&rsquo; I think that really hit home. We&rsquo;ve got to go after them first and put them on their heels.&rdquo;
Philadelphia is battling history, too.
Miami has taken a 2-0 lead in 18 previous series, including the first round this season against Atlanta, and won the matchup every time. The 76ers have dropped the first two games 19 previous times, never recovering to win the series.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 23 points in Game 2. The Miami center tops the list of players impacted by the possible return of the 7-foot Embiid.
&ldquo;It changes dramatically. You&rsquo;re talking about MVP talent,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;We knew that this series was going to shift and it was going to change pretty dramatically. It&rsquo;s better for it to change dramatically when we&rsquo;re able to get a couple of wins.&rdquo;
The Mavericks were close in the fourth quarter of Game 2 before Paul sparked a 23-2 run with the Suns leading by six. He had 14 of his 28 points in the fourth. Booker had consecutive 3-pointers during the run and scored 30.
&ldquo;We have guys that definitely can guard these guys,&rdquo; said Dallas guard Reggie Bullock, one of the defense-first players assigned that task. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s going to take a team effort to be able to contain them.&rdquo;
Jalen Brunson averaged 27.8 points in the first-round win over Utah, when Doncic missed the first three games with a left calf strain. Brunson is averaging 11 points on 32% shooting against the Suns and has almost as many fouls (eight) as baskets (nine).
Doncic, who scored 45 and 35 points in the first two games, looked tired with the Suns repeatedly attacking him on screens, particularly in the fourth quarter when they shot 84%.
&ldquo;He should be tired,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;He played his heart out. He&rsquo;s tired every night. He plays hard. We&rsquo;ve got to get other guys involved to help him. Right now it&rsquo;s just been him.&rdquo;
HEAT AT 76ERS
Miami leads 2-0. Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Miami G Victor Oladipo, playing in the conference semifinals for the first time in his career, scored 19 in Game 2. It was just his 12th game of the season, and he has played four consecutive games for the first time since joining the Heat after being plagued by issues with his right quadriceps tendon. A two-time All-Star in Indiana, Oladipo can help offset the return of Embiid with consistent production. He scored 23 in the first-round clincher against Atlanta.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Philadelphia&rsquo;s 3-point shooting. The 76ers were the No. 3 team in the first round from beyond the arc (40.8%). They&rsquo;re by far the worst team so far in the conference semifinal round, connecting on just 21.9% in the first two games of the series.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Heat PG Kyle Lowry, who has missed the last four games with a strained left hamstring, was upgraded to questionable for Game 3. Playing in Philadelphia always has significance to Lowry, since he went to Villanova and is a North Philly native.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Philadelphia. The Sixers have to find a way win without Embiid. Otherwise, a 3-0 deficit might be the thing that gets them checking out and thinking about summer vacation.
SUNS AT MAVERICKS
Phoenix leads 2-0. Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns have shot at least 50% in all eight playoff games, with the 64.5% in Game 2 against Dallas the highest yet. Paul is shooting a mind-numbing 67% inside the 3-point line. The defensive turnaround for the Mavericks has been one of the biggest stories of Kidd's first season. They were second to Boston in fewest points allowed in the regular season and kept it up while beating the Jazz in six games. Not so much in this series.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Dallas G Spencer Dinwiddie had some of his best games when Doncic was out during the regular season. His production is way off in the postseason. There were signs of life in Game 2, when he scored 10 of his 11 points to help Dallas take a 60-58 halftime lead. But he got just one shot, and missed it, in the fourth quarter.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Dallas F Maxi Kleber played 28 minutes and scored nine points in Game 2 after taking a nasty fall on his back, shoulders and neck in the series opener. The Mavericks have said he came through OK, but his effectiveness will bear watching after he acknowledged being sore.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Mavericks G-F Dorian Finney-Smith needs to stay out of foul trouble. He's among the most important defenders and was limited to 20 minutes after picking up three fouls in the first quarter.

Philadelphia and Dallas head home trying to stay in conference semifinal series against the top seeds.

Embiid upgraded to doubtful; Sixers, Mavs seek rebound vs. Heat, Suns

The top-seeded Phoenix Suns were braced for another fourth-quarter playoff fight on Wednesday night.
Chris Paul turned it into an early knockout.
The 12-time All-Star scored 28 points, including 14 in another spectacular final quarter, to lead the Suns over the Dallas Mavericks 129-109 for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul, a 12-time All-Star who turns 37 years old on Friday, almost single-handedly turned a tight game into a comfortable victory &mdash; the Suns' 11th win in a row against the Mavericks counting regular-season games.
&ldquo;You've just got to lean on the work," Paul said. &ldquo;It all goes back to the work. You can't cheat the game. You've got to do the strength and conditioning, you've got to lift, you've got to get your rest, you got to get your shots up.
"When you do that, you live with the results.&rdquo;
Suns guard Devin Booker said he's run out of ways to describe Paul's fourth-quarter heroics.
&ldquo;You guys tell me, you're watching the same thing,&rdquo; Booker said. "It impresses us every time we see it, but it doesn't surprise us. It's just the will to win.&rdquo;
The Mavs led 60-58 at halftime but the Suns quickly recaptured the lead after Booker hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third. The Suns took an 89-83 advantage going into the final quarter and it looked like a tough fight was coming.
But that's about the time Paul decided the game was his to control, hitting six shots in a row on everything from 3-pointers to mid-range jumpers to layups. The feisty Mavericks finally didn't have an answer. Booker hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth to give the Suns a 114-95 lead.
Booker led the Suns with 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. The Suns shot 64.5% overall &mdash; which was a franchise record in the playoffs &mdash; and made 52% of their 3-pointers. They shot 84% from the field (16 of 19) in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;We have good players,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;I'd love to sit here and tell you I'm moving the chess pieces around, but we have good players who can knock down shots.&rdquo;
Game 3 is on Friday in Dallas.
The Mavericks will go home in a 2-0 hole, desperately needing contributions from someone other than Luka Doncic, who scored 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting two nights after a 45-point performance in Game 1.
&ldquo;He had a great game, but no one else showed,&rdquo; Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;We've got to get other guys shooting the ball better. We can't win with just him out there scoring 30 a night. Not this time of the year and playing the best team in the league.&rdquo;
Reggie Bullock added 16 points for the Mavs.
&ldquo;The mood is fine,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;I think a lot of players, it's the first time in this situation. They've got to win four, so it's not over yet. We are going to go back home, our crowd is amazing.&rdquo;
The Suns jumped out to a 9-0 lead for a second straight game, but the Mavericks had a better response than in Game 1.
Dallas slowly fought back and Spencer Dinwiddie hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 38. Davis Bertans followed with a 3-pointer with 7:56 left in the second quarter to give the Mavs a 41-38 advantage and their first lead of the series.
The Mavs took a two-point lead after a foul-filled first half. Doncic scored 24 before the break on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Jae Crowder led the Suns with 15.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Bertans gave the Mavs good minutes in the first half, scoring nine points and going 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. ... Doncic briefly turned and stared down a Suns heckler late in the third quarter when he was walking off the playing floor into the tunnel. Doncic was quickly ushered away from the fan by Dallas team personnel.
Suns: Shot 64.7% from the field in the first quarter. ... Crowder picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. Ayton was called for a flagrant 1 foul after being called for an offensive foul, catching Dwight Powell in the face with his elbow. ... Phoenix hosted a sellout crowd for a 31st straight game.

Chris Paul scored 28 points, including 14 in another spectacular final quarter, to lead the Suns over the Mavericks 129-109.

Paul has another stellar fourth, Suns blow past Mavs 129-109

Ever since Artūras Karni&scaron;ovas and Marc Eversley took over the Bulls&rsquo; front office two years ago, Chicago has been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA. Their fingerprints are all over this roster, with notable acquisitions such as DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.
These moves have translated to on-court success, as the Bulls posted their best winning percentage since the 2014-15 season and ended their four-year playoff drought. This year, Chicago was 46-36 &mdash; more wins than they had in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons combined. (Zach LaVine and Coby White are the only remaining players from that 2019-20 squad).
The Bulls entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference while boasting the NBA's 11th-ranked offense (scoring 111.0 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked defense (allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
While this season marked a step in the right direction, the Bulls&rsquo; first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks showed that there&rsquo;s still plenty of work to be done. Despite Milwaukee losing their second-best player, Khris Middleton, to a sprained MCL in Game 2, the Bucks completed a gentleman's sweep against the Bulls. Chicago wasn&rsquo;t at full strength either, with Ball sidelined due to a knee injury and LaVine (COVID-19) and Caruso (concussion) each missing Game 5. Still, the reigning champions were a good litmus test.
Entering the offseason, where does Chicago go from here? Are big changes coming?
RE-SIGNING ZACH LAVINE
Entering this offseason, Chicago&rsquo;s top priority should be re-signing LaVine, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old has emerged as a perennial All-Star, earning a spot on the Eastern Conference squad in each of the last two seasons.&nbsp;
This year, LaVine averaged 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 threes, while reducing his turnovers to 2.6 per game and shooting 47.6% from the field, 38.9% from three and 85.3% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;
LaVine will certainly expect a maximum contract from the Bulls, which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $212.3 million over five years. The most he could receive from another team is $157.4 million over four years. This is a relatively weak free-agent class, so it seems very likely that LaVine will get a max deal from some team.&nbsp;
The Bulls would be wise to re-sign their star shooting guard, as replacing his production would be difficult, and the team would certainly take a step back if LaVine signed elsewhere.
"I plan to enjoy free agency," LaVine said recently. &ldquo;We're going to have to experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and [Rich Paul] are going to go through and experience."
LaVine was asked if the Bulls are the front-runners to sign him, but he wouldn&rsquo;t say.
"You guys have been a really, really soft spot in my heart," LaVine said to the Chicago media. "I have to do this as a business decision, as a man, to not just be viewed one way and be like, 'I'm automatically coming back,' or, 'I'm automatically leaving.'"
In multiple interviews, LaVine has reiterated that he wants to be paid what he feels he deserves.
"I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing," LaVine <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/zach-lavine-prepares-olympic-quarterfinal-bulls-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last August. "I outplayed my contract; I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect."
FREE AGENCY
Aside from LaVine, the bulk of Chicago's core is under contract for the foreseeable future.&nbsp;
The Bulls have $103,181,950 in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, spread across nine players: DeRozan, Vucevic, Lopez, Caruso, White, Patrick Williams, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Marko Simonovic. Projections set next year&rsquo;s salary cap at $122 million and the luxury tax at $149 million.
Derrick Jones Jr.,Tristan Thompson and Matt Thomas will be unrestricted free agents. Tony Bradley has a player option worth $2,036,318, so he could opt out and test the market as well.
The team will have three restricted free agents (assuming Chicago extends a qualifying offer to each): Troy Brown Jr. ($7,228,448 QO), Tyler Cook ($1,576,305) and Malcolm Hill ($1,576,305).
Last year, the Bulls were very aggressive in free agency, making splashy moves left and right. Given their cap situation, it seems unlikely that Chicago will be able to go star hunting, but they&rsquo;ll likely try to improve their depth and add certain specialists. For example, Chicago could use a rim protector, as they averaged just 4.0 blocks per game (which ranked 27th in the NBA). Can they afford Mitchell Robinson? Could they throw an offer sheet at or sign-and-trade for a restricted free agent like Nic Claxton or Mo Bamba? Can they add a veteran like JaVale McGee or Hassan Whiteside?&nbsp;
In addition to a rim protector, it would make sense to add other defensive reinforcements as well (especially if Jones signs elsewhere). Caruso and Ball give Chicago a strong defensive backcourt, but they need some help if the Bulls want to improve their 23rd-ranked defensive rating (113.2). Some of the top defensive role players who are hitting the market include Bruce Brown, Gary Payton II and PJ Tucker. Lu Dort and Jae'Sean Tate each have a team option, but it seems unlikely that either will be available given their bargain contracts.
The Bulls will look to add a contributor or two using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $10,349,000. Last offseason, that is how Chicago was able to sign Caruso to a four-year, $37 million deal, which ended up being a terrific addition. Other players who signed for the non-taxpayer MLE last offseason include McGee (Phoenix Suns), Tucker (Miami Heat), Reggie Bullock (Dallas Mavericks) and Khem Birch (Toronto Raptors).
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do in free agency. However, keep in mind that some of Chicago&rsquo;s biggest additions in recent years were acquired through trades.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gobe_lg.jpg" alt="" width="685" height="400" />
TRADES
After watching the Bulls&rsquo; front office trade for Vucevic, DeRozan and Ball, fans are understandably thinking big when it comes to Chicago&rsquo;s trade targets entering the offseason.
Myles Turner has been mentioned as a possible target for the Bulls since he could solve their rim-protection issues, but the window on acquiring Turner may have slammed shut as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/despite-trade-talks-the-pacers-want-to-keep-myles-turner-longterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report</a> suggested that the Indiana Pacers are now expected to keep the 26-year-old long-term.
Another dominant shot-blocker who may become available is Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz just had another season end in disappointing fashion, and there has already been a <a href="https://twitter.com/realOCsports/status/1521141215411941376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that the Jazz will be forced to choose between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. If Utah opts to keep their young shooting guard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Defensive First-Team selection could suddenly be obtainable.
If that happens, the Bulls should at least reach out and start a conversation. Our Evan Sidery recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down potential destinations for Gobert</a> and listed Chicago as the top landing spot. Here&rsquo;s what he wrote:
Imagine the possibilities for Chicago with Gobert patrolling the paint with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso hawking the perimeter. It&rsquo;s the perfect complement to offensive dynamos Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago&rsquo;s new starting lineup of Ball, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Gobert would seemingly have no holes in it from a two-way perspective. I absolutely love this idea for Chicago, and they should be blowing up the Jazz&rsquo;s phone this summer if it seems plausible.
Jazz receive: Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Coby White, draft compensation Bulls receive: Rudy Gobert
It remains to be seen if either side would do this, but it&rsquo;s an intriguing idea.
With that said, if the Bulls are committed to Vucevic and don&rsquo;t want to trade for a new big man, HoopsHype&rsquo;s Yossi Gozlan <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points out</a> that an extension for Vooch could make sense this offseason.
If that happens, perhaps Chicago just looks for a complementary shot-blocker who can play behind Vucevic like one of the free agents we mentioned above or more of a minor trade target such as New York&rsquo;s Nerlens Noel or Minnesota&rsquo;s Jarred Vanderbilt.
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that the Bulls have a $5,000,000 trade exception that expires on July 7, 2022, from their Daniel Theis deal.
DRAFT
The Bulls have the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. In BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, our senior NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock has Chicago selecting Ohio State forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ej-liddell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EJ Liddell</a>.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-7, 21-year-old junior is a well-rounded, NBA-ready player who makes sense for a Bulls team that wants to win now. Last season, Liddell averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.6 blocks, 1.4 threes and 0.6 steals, while shooting 49.0% from the field, 37.4% from three and 76.5% from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;Although he is a bit undersized for the position, the Buckeyes often used Liddell as a 4 or 5 in their lineups,&rdquo; Babcock noted in his scouting breakdown. &ldquo;He is physical and versatile on both ends of the floor, scoring both inside and out. He appears more comfortable in the mid-range and paint, which works well for his college system but raises questions in regards to his translatability to the NBA. Liddell filled up the box score and played with great effort and toughness. He has certainly carved out a spot for himself in the 2022 NBA Draft.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/37mLYAneg7M" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Other players who are projected to be available in that range are G League Ignite wing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/marjon-beauchamp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarJon Beauchamp</a>, Baylor forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kendall-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kendall Brown</a>, LSU forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/tari-eason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tari Eason</a>, Notre Dame guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/blake-wesley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Wesley</a>, G League Ignite guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jaden-hardy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaden Hardy</a>, Serbian forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikola Jovic</a> and Tennessee guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kennedy-chandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennedy Chandler</a>.&nbsp;
If the Bulls aren&rsquo;t interested in any of these prospects, or if Karni&scaron;ovas and Eversley continue to be aggressive on the trade market, Chicago could look to deal the No. 18 pick as part of a win-now move.
It&rsquo;s worth noting that Chicago must forfeit their next-available second-round pick after an NBA investigation revealed that they contacted Ball prior to the start of the NBA&rsquo;s free-agency period. As it stands, the Bulls&rsquo; next-available pick is the team&rsquo;s 2026 second-rounder, but Chicago can&rsquo;t acquire a second-round pick before then because they&rsquo;d have to forfeit it.
***
After a few rough years, the Bulls seem to be back on the right trajectory, and there&rsquo;s no question that this team has the talent to be a perennial playoff squad in the East. Winning 46 games despite trying to get so many new players acclimated is impressive, especially when you factor in the injuries to Ball, Caruso, Williams, etc.
Even if the Bulls bring back largely the same roster, they will benefit from that continuity and improved chemistry. However, given what we&rsquo;ve seen from this front office in recent years, don&rsquo;t be surprised if they look to wheel-and-deal in order to take the roster to the next level.

After winning 46 games and losing in the first round, where will the Bulls go from here? Alex Kennedy previews Chicago's summer.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Chicago Bulls?

Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 23 and the top-seeded Phoenix Suns rolled to a 121-114 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Suns never trailed, jumping to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes and rarely let off the gas. They shot 50.5% from the field, won the rebounding edge 51-36 and beat the Mavericks for the 10th straight time, counting regular season games.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 45 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. It&rsquo;s the first time Dallas has advanced to the postseason&rsquo;s second round in Doncic&rsquo;s four-year NBA career.
Doncic and Maxi Kleber looked ready for the challenge but the rest of the Mavs didn&rsquo;t do much until it was too late. Kleber finished with 19 points.
Game 2 is on Wednesday in Phoenix.
Booker missed three games during Phoenix&rsquo;s first-round win over the New Orleans Pelicans because of a strained right hamstring suffered in Game 2. He returned for the closeout Game 6 and scored 13 points, but looked a little more cautious than usual in his effort to stay healthy.
That hesitancy was gone in the first quarter on Monday: Booker scored 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting and added six rebounds and four assists.
Ayton dominated in the paint and mid-range, hitting his usual array of turnaround jumpers, runners and dunks. The 6-foot-11 center shot 12 of 20 from the field. Chris Paul added 19 points and Cam Johnson had 17 off the bench.
All five Suns starters scored in double figures.
The Suns&rsquo; opening salvo was highlighted by a Jae Crowder 3-pointer and Booker&rsquo;s lob pass to Mikal Bridges for a dunk. Phoenix extended its lead to 18-6 midway through the first quarter before a discombobulated Dallas called timeout.
The Mavericks stayed in the game for a while thanks to Doncic and Kleber, who hit his first four 3-pointers. The pair helped Dallas pull within 51-47 midway through the second but the Suns finished the half with another run, going into the break with a 69-56 lead.
OUCH
Doncic was slow to get up in the second quarter after taking a knee to the groin from Jae Crowder, who was shooting a 3-pointer and called for the offensive foul.
After an official review, Crowder&rsquo;s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1.
7-FOOT FUN
Suns backup center JaVale McGee brought the crowd to its feet early in the fourth quarter with a rare defensive play on the perimeter.
He stole the ball from Doncic and then dribbled the length of the floor, finishing with a powerful dunk to put the Suns up 21 points.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Doncic scored 14 points in the first quarter on 5 of 9 shooting. ... Kleber hit 5 of 6 3-pointers in the first half and had 16 points before the break. ... Kleber took a scary fall in the fourth quarter after being bumped by JaVale McGee while finishing a dunk. Kleber landed on his upper back and was shaken up for a few seconds before taking his free throw.
Suns: Crowder hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter then turned and started celebrating with former Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who was sitting courtside. Fitzgerald is a part-owner of the franchise. ... It was the 30th consecutive sellout at the Footprint Center, dating back to the regular season. ... Improved to 51-0 this season when leading after three quarters, including a 4-0 mark in the playoffs.

Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 23 and the top-seeded Suns rolled to a 121-114 Game 1 win over the Mavs.

Ayton, Booker lead top-seeded Suns past Mavericks 121-114

Luka Doncic and his teammates remind Jason Kidd a little of the last Dallas Mavericks team to advance in the playoffs.
The coach now was the point guard then when the Mavericks had split the first four games of the 2011 playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers. He recalls people thinking Dallas might not even get out of that series.
Instead, the Mavericks won the next two games and never looked back. They swept the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers in the next round and ended up winning the title themselves by beating Miami in the NBA Finals.
This year, Dallas again started 2-2, then won two straight <a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-donovan-mitchell-fb5fd38fade2be4e78e6676d735f2eec">to get by the Utah Jazz with a 98-96 victory</a> on Thursday night. The current Mavericks don't have the experience and may not have the talent of his title team, but Kidd said they are a special group.
&ldquo;They truly believe, small or big &mdash; we&rsquo;re not very big &mdash; but they find a way to win and they have fun doing it,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;And hopefully this gives us confidence going against the best team in the NBA right now.&rdquo;
That would be the Phoenix Suns, the No. 1 seed after finishing 64-18 for the NBA's best record. They also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-new-orleans-pelicans-nba-sports-playoffs-70682f2d4f433976ed229522060672a8">wrapped up their series with a Game 6 victory on Thursday in New Orleans</a> and will host the Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to have to play our best basketball,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;They were in the finals last year, No. 1 team this year, so it&rsquo;s going to be really tough. The crowd really gets them going, so I think we&rsquo;re going to have to play our best basketball to beat them.&rdquo;
Doncic always plays well in the postseason, but it hadn't resulted in a series victory yet. The Mavericks lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in each of the last two years, even though he averaged more than 31 points in both.
The Mavs had to open this series without their All-Star, who missed the first three games with a calf strain sustained on the final day of the regular season. Once he returned, he averaged 29 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Unlike those previous series, when it appeared sometimes Doncic had to do it all alone, he shared the scoring load against the Jazz. Jalen Brunson followed his best NBA season &mdash; and set himself up to cash in nicely in the offseason &mdash; by averaging 27.8 points.
That came after he didn't play in the 2020 series and played poorly in the final four games last year as the Mavs blew a 2-0 lead.
&ldquo;Pretty much I&rsquo;m over the past two years,&rdquo; Brunson said. &ldquo;This year is different for me and looking forward to continuing it and trying to help my team win.&rdquo;
With Doncic, Brunson and midseason acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavs' strength is their three-guard lineup. Still, Dallas rarely looks explosive offensively.
Instead, it's a defense that allowed 104.7 points, just behind Boston for best in the NBA, that carried the Mavericks to a 52-30 record and the No. 4 seed in the West. Now they'll see what they can do against the Suns.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to be a fancy group,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have a lot of big names &mdash; Luka&rsquo;s the one that gets the majority of the attention &mdash; but JB, Dorian (Finney-Smith) and Reggie (Bullock) and those guys really, truly believe in team, and that&rsquo;s what helped us win this series.&rdquo;

“I think we’re going to have to play our best basketball,” Luka Doncic said of the Mavericks drawing Phoenix in the second round.