#Luka #Doncic #Dorian #FinneySmith #lead #Mavericks #equality
Everything is to be redone for the Suns. After taking control of the series by winning the first two games, they have just suffered another loss in Texas, synonymous with a draw. But also a dynamic clearly in favor of Jason Kidd and his company.
In deciding to reduce the minutes of Dwight Powell, handicapped by fouls, Jason Kidd was quick to make it clear that the Mavs were going to play “small ball” in this part, with five players positioned behind the arc to attack during part of it. the match.
This strategy quickly paid off as the Mavs, led by a still-deadly Luka Doncic and a ferocious comeback by Davis Bertans, put 37 points behind the Suns’ defense in the first quarter (37-25). While the Mavs did a lot of damage from distance, the visitors did the same, but in penetration. Devin Booker scored 19 points in a first offensive period dominated by Dallas (68-56).
The visitors, despite concerns about Chris Paul fouling, came back from the locker room with better intentions, particularly defensively. A short-lived highlight as after missing seven straight shots, the Mavs resumed their forward march after a rather unlikely turnaround by Jalen Brunson late in the possession (70-63). Then Luka Doncic repeatedly abused his size advantage over Cameron Payne while Frank Ntilikina returned a shot, still from 3, to breathe new life into Dallas (87-78) before the start of the fourth period.
Despite Devin Booker’s build, in the heart of a game that saw a drop in pace in the second half, the Suns were unable to pick up more, due to a lack of defensive “brakes.”
Dorian Finney-Smith took advantage of defensive oversights in his game in transition to send two decisive missiles six minutes from time (97-83). Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder tried to bring Phoenix back, the Mavs always found a way to respond. Like two new award shots from Reggie Bullock and Jalen Brunson, still served up by Luka Doncic.
The latter signed a superb “spin move” against Cam Johnson to win the post and Dallas was able to afford the last few minutes of the game quite calmly.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Chris Paul’s nightmare with its flaws. When Monty Williams fired his leader about forty seconds from the end of the first half, ‘CP3’ already had three personal fouls on the clock. He had the bad idea to play his own rebound against Luka Doncic in the last action before the break. Fourth foul, unprecedented for him in a first half, but Monty Williams assured that his veteran was smart enough to play. However, he made his 5th quite quickly in the third quarter, a period that, therefore, he hardly played. Ditto for the next period, as he left a hand behind Jalen Brunson. With nine minutes to go, the Suns would have to do without their teacher to play, already “fouled” without really questioning the referee’s decisions.
– The deluge of Texas to the triples in the first half. Luka Doncic drawing so much attention to him, the Mavs shooters just have to wait for his turn, and the Slovenian’s good pass, at corners. This is what Dorian Finney-Smith and Davis Bertans, author of a fiery first comeback, did spectacularly in the first half. Indeed, the Texans have added 68 points in these 24 minutes with an almost unreal 14/24 behind the arc. The success was less there after that he only signed a 2/11 from afar in the next quarter. However, they scored 20 prize baskets, twice as many as their opponents.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Luka Doncić. He clearly overused the 3-point shot (1/10!), which caused his overall shooting percentage to drop. For the rest, there was little to shoot in the match for the Slovenian who still knew how to easily penalize near the circle and found his shooters thanks to his good readings in the fixation, with or without a combination. He also spent much of his evening on the ground, due to the contact suffered.
✅ Dorian Finney-Smith. He was the most awarded player by Luka Doncic. The strong winger signed his best game since the start of these playoffs. He scored all of his points from behind the arc and planted two consecutive very important prize baskets with six minutes left.
✅ Devin Booker. Solid game for the Suns defense that had to take a little more control in their team’s attack, in the absence of Chris Paul. He was very aggressive in the circle and got a lot of free throws.
⛔ cameron payne. Opposite feel compared to Devin Booker with the backup point guard. However, he had a great opportunity to show himself with the usual starter on the bench. He didn’t really benefit from that and also suffered defensively against the beefier Luka Doncic. Therefore, Monty Williams preferred to do without a playmaker during the last period.
THE CONTINUATION
game 5 : in Phoenix, on the night of Tuesday, May 10 to Wednesday, May 11.
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