The Dallas Mavericks, led by a great Luka Doncic, forced the seventh game in one of the NBA West semifinals after beating the Phoenix Suns (86-113) in the sixth game of the series. In the East, the Miami Heat got their ticket to the Conference final after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the sixth game (99-90).
The Texan team and the Arizona team, which was the team with the most victories in the regular phase, will play for the pass to the West final in Phoenix on Sunday. The Suns should soon forget the defeat at the American Airlines Center, where the Dallas franchise put together a seamless game to avoid elimination and with a great success from long distance with 16 triples.
Doncic was the absolute owner of the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals, and also had a very solid support from his teammates. Reggie Bullock (19 points, with 5 triples, and 7 rebounds), Jalen Brunson (18 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points) accompanied Doncic perfectly in a Mavericks that made 16 triples.
Facing the ideal night of the Mavericks, the Suns lived a nightmare in Dallas. They lost 22 balls (which gave rise to 29 points from their rivals), only made 6 triples and had very discreet performances from their stars. Deandre Ayton was the best (21 points and 11 rebounds) while Devin Booker (19 points and 8 turnovers) and Chris Paul (13 points and 5 turnovers) passed with more pain than glory.
Outperformed by the Mavericks at all times, the Suns, who fell in the 2021 NBA Finals to the Milwaukee Bucks, showed worrying signs of frustration and impotence but still have the bullet left in Game 7 in front of their fans.
Doncic missed his first three shots, but the way the first quarter ended, it seemed like the start was just a distraction. Overwhelming back and running on the counterattack, Dallas closed the first half with a resounding 19-6 and landed at halftime with good feelings against a dubious Suns (60-45).
After the break, the Mavericks had to face the ghost of the fifth game, in which the Suns mercilessly crushed them in the third quarter (33-14). But the story tonight had nothing to do with it. With the same intensity as in the first half, the Mavericks shook the Suns without giving them time to react and between Doncic, Brunson and Powell they achieved 20 (68-48 with 8.51 to go). The Mavericks respected their winning script of the evening to the letter and entered the last quarter with a huge lead that demanded a miracle from the Suns (94-72).
For their part, the Miami Heat will play the final of the Eastern Conference after this Thursday they eliminated (2-4) the Sixers (2-4) of a Joel Embiid who gave everything despite his physical problems and a James Harden very disappointing that he did not score a single point in the second half.
The Sixers had to win this sixth game in Philadelphia in order not to go on vacation, but they fell apart in a third quarter (15-25) in which the Heat proved to be a much more complete, hard-working and versatile team.
Sensational one more night, Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Max Strus also stood out (20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists) in a Heat team that made 48.3% of their shots and crushed the Sixers in the fight for rebounds (49 to 35). Joel Embiid (20 points and 12 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (20 points) were the best of the Sixers in which James Harden’s laziness drew attention.
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