A blast from Chris Paul in the fourth quarter gave the Suns a 129-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks despite more heroics from Luka Doncic.
Paul, 36, wowed the NBA world after taking charge in the fourth period, scoring 14 of his 28 points to finish with 8 assists and 6 rebounds per game.
Doncic, who scored 45 points in Dallas’ first loss, added a game-high 35 points with 7 assists and 5 rebounds but gave up 5 turnovers as the Suns cruised to a 2-0 run in the Western Conference semifinals. .
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The Mavs staged a fourth quarter comeback in the first game at home to make the score more respectable 121-114. This time, it was the Suns who left in the fourth period, going on a 20-2 run that put the game to bed.
Dallas led by four points at the half after a quiet performance from Devin Booker, who had just nine points at halftime on 4-for-8 shooting.
But he exploded with 21 points in the second half on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor to finish with 30 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Doncic was again left needing more from his supporting cast, with only Reggie Bullock (16 points) and bench player Spencer Dinwiddie (11) reaching double figures in the points column.
THE SIXERS EXPECT EMBIID TO RETURN AFTER SECOND LOSS
The Philadelphia 76ers are hopeful that Joel Embiid can return for Game 3 of their semifinal series with the Miami Heat, and they certainly will need him.
The Sixers are in a 2-0 hole after a 119-103 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday.
James Harden, having struggled in the first game of the series, stepped up to lead the Sixers with 16 points in the first half (12 in the second quarter).
Harden only had two points in the third to go with two assists, finishing the game with 20 points, nine assists and four rebounds.
Tyrese Maxey also stood out with 34 points, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with a Miami team that had a strong performance from Tyler Herro.
Having won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award on Wednesday, Herro showed why he had been so valuable off the bench when he led the Heat to a 60-52 halftime lead.
Herro had 16 points and five rebounds at the time, having shot 5 of 7 from the floor and 3 of 4 from deep.
Miami’s bench (52 points) ended up easily outscoring Philadelphia (19).
It wasn’t just the bench that was an issue, though, as Sixers coach Doc Rivers came under scrutiny again for his decision to play centers DeAndre Jordan and Paul Reed.
The Sixers had some success with a small-ball lineup, but struggled when either center was on the court.
Rivers was heavily criticized for stubbornly continuing to play Jordan in Game 1 despite suggestions that it could cost him the series.
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“The thing is, Miami is not a very big team,” former Sixers great Charles Barkley said on the ‘Inside the Green Room Podcast with Danny Green’ this week.
“They really just have one big guy. So I would make it a track meet, a shooting contest, I think that’s the only way the Sixers can win. They’re not going to kill them on the boards, because aside from Bam Adebayo, they don’t have a lot of big guys… I think that’s the only chance the Sixers have until Joel comes back.
“DeAndre has to be sitting there with Doc Rivers and those guys. It’s over for DeAndre. He’s had a great career, but he can’t play, especially in today’s NBA. In today’s NBA, if you can’t move, it’s very difficult for you.”
That’s not the only headache Rivers faces, though, as Aussie Matisse Thybulle also continues to struggle on the offensive end.
While Thybulle is, on paper, the best matchup to defend Herro, it’s hard for Rivers to continue playing him in critical minutes given his lack of shooting.
Thybulle played 20 minutes but failed to score a single point or shot in the game.
To be fair to Thybulle, he wasn’t the only one, with Danny Green also struggling in a big way, managing just three points in 23 minutes on the floor after shooting 1-for-10.
Though Thybulle also struggled in Game 5 against the Raptors in their first-round playoff series, going 1-for-6, with his only basket coming off a miss that he leaned over by mistake.
There was a moment in the fourth quarter when Harden had the ball and Thybulle was in the right corner that spoke to Philadelphia’s headache over how to use the Aussie.
Heat defenders deliberately left Thybulle open in the corner, knowing they didn’t need to cover him, and instead turned their attention to Harden.
Speaking of Harden, he and Maxey did everything they could to inspire a late comeback in Philly.
The Sixers threatened to force their return to the late game, but faced stiff resistance from the Heat, who at one point went on an 11-2 run to freeze the win.
While Herro was the hero of the first half, Jimmy Butler (22 points, 11 assists, six rebounds) and Adebayo (23 points, nine rebounds and three assists) also posted great numbers.
Víctor Oladipo, meanwhile, came off the bench with 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Reference-www.foxsports.com.au