The Dallas Mavericks I was hit before Phoenix Suns Wednesday night, losing game two on the road 129-109. Chris Paul had an amazing performance, scoring 28 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Luka Doncic led the Dallas team with 35 games in defeat.
The game opened just like Game 1, with the Mavericks looking somewhat shocked and the Suns jumping to a quick 9-0 lead. Luka Doncic single-handedly kept Dallas in the game, along with some powerful shots from Reggie Bullock, but the Suns punished the Mavericks from both ends. Jalen Bronson and Dorian Finney Smith both had trouble early on, with the latter scoring three in just nine minutes. Somehow, the Mavericks found themselves down by just four points, 32-28 behind the Suns after one quarter.
With Doncic on the bench, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis helped Bertans Dallas take the first lead in the series at 41-38 at the eight-minute mark. The quarter was inundated with false calls, most of which were somehow at the end of the attack. Jay Crowder kept blazing to keep the sun at bay, shooting three free throws. Doncic closed the quarter with three huge refrigerators, but Chris Paul and the Suns answered each time. Dallas entered the half, up 60-58.
Devin Booker went to work early in the second half, shooting away three and a long two, hitting it all to reclaim the lead for the Suns. The game was mired in mud for a while, with foul after foul that seemingly summoned every possession, including a blatant attack on DeAndre Ayton on a quick break where Dwight Powell grabbed his elbow in the face. With Dallas dropping eight times, a streak of three-pointers from Reggie Bullock pulled the Mavericks straight back, tying it at 78. The Mavericks lost focus a bit on the run and a few lapses left them behind 89-83 after three quarters.
Things collapsed in the fourth quarter for Dallas, with Chris Paul taking charge on both ends of the floor. Doncic was repeatedly targeted by Paul. The Suns ran Dallas off the ground, scoring 23-2 after Doncic hit a triple pointer to make the score 99-93. Three after three from a whole variety of Suns to make the game elusive. Dallas fell off the ground 129-109 and came home to Game 3 Friday night 2-0.
Luka Doncic learns a different break lesson
The Los Angeles Clippers He had two of the best defenders on the planet and a bunch of bodies to throw at Luka Doncic in the previous two rounds. We’ll never know what could happen in the first series with Kristaps Porzingis healthy and in the second series the hot shooting was cold and the former coaching staff corrected then Kowhi Leonard played one of the best basketball I’ve seen seen in Game 6.
This series, this entire qualifier, something different is happening. Luka Doncic is targeted in defense over and over again. Against the Jazz, he’s held out for the Suns, he’s having a much tougher time. By the fourth quarter, he looked completely exhausted and had only played 30 minutes until that point. While he has to keep improving his defense, he really needs to keep improving his core form. It’s a small but important thing that will pay off, because if he wants to play in a dominant way on the ball, he can’t stand the fatigue.
Questioning some key training decisions
The Mavericks won 18 to 4 in the first three minutes of game one and game two. Those points can largely be placed at the feet of quarterback Dwight Powell, who plays hard but is simply not a physical match for this. complete series. It is picked up by the guards on the keys and out of muscle by all of the Phoenix players. Both the first quarter and the third quarter started when the Mavericks were completely blown out. I’m not sure how much more the coaching staff would need to keep trying the same thing that doesn’t work.
Plus, it’s worth asking why Dorian Vinnie Smith in the first quarter made two mistakes. The first was a cheap whistle that was not supposed to be called, and the second came when shooting with three points. The third loose ball game happened three minutes or so before the end of the quarter and he shouldn’t have been around. The Mavericks mitigated the effects of the regression with strong play from Davis Bertans and others but there was no reason to stay in that position. .
Dallas needs Galen Bronson
That’s obvious, but Bronson is now 9 of 28 in the series with nearly as many personal mistakes (8) as the baskets made. I’m sure I’ll feel a little sad in the comments saying he’s not getting the ball enough and I think Bronson has been planted in the corner a lot of times in this game, but he’s not taking advantage of the attack. He bleeds into other elements of his game plus he was picked on defense and gave up a few offensive rebounds, something I’ve never seen.
It’s easy to get into the narrative we’ve been talking about regarding Bronson struggling with height. But as one person on Twitter told me that everyone in the NBA is taller than Bronson, so what are we talking about? While we mean he struggles with taller defenders who are actually really good at defending, I think this is the simplest of all: Bronson just needs to play better.
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