Doncic, Mavs Face Suns With Spot in West Finals At Stake
Fresh off their first playoff series win in more than a decade after dispatching the Utah Jazz, the Dallas Mavericks get the top-seeded Phoenix Suns as the reward. The league’s best team by far during the regular season also advanced Thursday night by beating the New Orleans Pelicans on the road.
The best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals open Monday night with the first of two games in Phoenix. The Suns are 2-1 in the playoffs at home thus far, while the Mavs are 2-1 on the road.
Phoenix went 64-18 during the season, easily besting the rest of the league. The closest challenger was the West second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who won 56 games and a currently leading their first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-2.
The Suns won all three games against Dallas during the season, outscoring the Mavs 108.7-101.0. The teams met two in Phoenix in mid-November in consecutive games, as the Suns were in the midst of an 18-game winning streak. Phoenix won the lone meeting in Dallas, 109-101, on Jan. 20.
The Suns haven’t seen the Mavs since the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Luka Doncic had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in January's loss, having missed both games in November. Jalen Brunson averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
| Day | Date | Away | Home | Game | Time (CT)<br> | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mon | 5/2 | Dallas | Phoenix | 1 | 9 pm | TNT |
Wed | 5/4 | Dallas | Phoenix | 2 | 9 pm | TNT |
Fri | 5/6 | Phoenix | Dallas | 3 | 8:30 pm | ESPN |
Sun | 5/8 | Phoenix | Dallas | 4 | TBD | TBD |
Tue | 5/10 | Dallas | Phoenix | 5* | TBD | TNT |
Thu | 5/12 | Phoenix | Dallas | 6* | TBD | ESPN |
Sun | 5/15 | Dallas | Phoenix | 7* | TBD | TBD |
*if necessary |
Phoenix received a huge boost Thursday night when Devin Booker returned from an injured hamstring sooner than expected. Booker averaged 23.7 points in the three games against Dallas.
Dallas and Phoenix have met twice previously in the playoffs. The Steve Nash-led Suns eliminated the Mavericks in 4-2 in the 2005 West semis. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs returned the favor the following year in the West finals, claiming the series 4-2 on the way to Dallas’ first trip to the NBA Finals.
