With their backs against the wall, facing elimination, the Dallas Mavericks came out swinging and shooting on Thursday night, and won a game they had to have. Now their Western Conference Semifinals series with the Phoenix Suns will come down to a Game 7.
Coach Jason Kidd had his Mavs ready for their first elimination game of the season, using the same recipe from their previous wins: being active on defense to cause turnovers and transition opportunities while focusing offensively on being aggressive getting to the line and through timely three-pointers.
Home court has also proven to carry a distinct advantage and Game 6 was no different as Dallas proved once again to be resilient and rise up on their home floor. The result was a 113-86 shellacking of the Suns to tie up the at three games apiece.
“The pride was high,” Coach Kidd said afterward. That group in that locker room, as we talked about, will always bounce back after a bad game. They felt they had a bad game and they bounced back.”
Entering Game 6, Mavs superstar Luka Doncic had not yet won an elimination game so far in his young career. But he was ready for the big stage and delivered on both ends of the court, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Defensively the Mavs got a huge boost from Reggie Bullock, who held Devin Booker to 19 points on 6-of-17 from the field. Bullock had a well-rounded performance which included five three-pointers, giving him 19 points to match the All-Star Booker on the scoreboard.
After the win, Coach Kidd discussed Bullock’s impact and how he never shies away from a challenge.
“Reggie was great tonight, he’s been great all series for us,” Coach Kidd said. “Again we’ve asked him to guard everybody and he’s been up for the challenge. We started him on Book just to see what would happen there, just to make it tough, Book is an incredible player, but I thought Reg did a good job and we’re going to need that energy from everybody on Sunday.”
With the season on the line, Dallas showed some shakiness on offense early, making just two of their first eight shot attempts. However, their defense kept Phoenix down as well and neither team could pull ahead. The first four buckets by the Suns were matched by the Mavs, leaving the score knotted four times, up to 8-8. Dorian Finney-Smith sank Dallas’ first three to put the Mavs up for the first time, 11-10, but Booker scored the next four points to give Phoenix a three-point lead. At the six-minute mark Jae Crowder hit a three to put Phoenix up 17-12, which would ultimately be the Suns’ largest lead of the game. Doncic responded by finding Maxi Kleber for a three-pointer, then scored the next seven points himself, pushing Dallas out on a 10-2 run to take the lead. Luka had 11 points in the quarter, which helped Dallas close the first with a 28-25 advantage.
Just twelve seconds into the second quarter, Paul connected from deep to tie the game at 28. But after Bullock answered with a three of his own, the Mavericks held the lead for the rest of the game. Bullock led an offensive surge in the second as the Mavs got hot from beyond the arc. Seconds after his first trey, Spencer Dinwiddie hit his first, a 25-foot pull up jumper to put Dallas up six. Cam Johnson answered with Phoenix’s second trey of the frame, but those were the only threes they hit in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the Dallas offense was just getting started. Approaching the four minute mark the Mavs started growing their lead. Doncic converted an and-one, then Bullock hit another three-pointer. The quick six points put Dallas up nine, 48-39. All told, Bullock nailed three triples in the second and as a team Dallas went 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. Defensively the Mavs had eight first half steals, while the trio of Doncic, Bullock and Jalen Brunson combined for 41 points. As a result, Dallas ended the half on an 18-6 run which gave them a 15-point halftime advantage.
Doncic kept the Mavs offense in attack mode early in the third. He found Dwight Powell for an alley oop dunk on their first possession and then, following a Mikal Bridges three-pointer, Luka aggressively pushed toward the basket on consecutive possessions, resulting in two successful trips to the charity stripe. The mini 8-3 run out of half was capped off with a Luka layup which put the Mavs up 20, 68-48. Phoenix understood the game was getting out of reach and tried to battle back. However, Dallas was not going to let that happen.
Not only did the Mavs hit more threes than the Suns in the third frame, they also attacked the basket at will and the main difference was the ability of Dallas to draw fouls and get the free throw line. Dallas went 10-of-11 from the line in the third and entered the final quarter with a comfortable cushion, 94-72.
Despite having a 22-point lead in the fourth, the Mavericks continued to apply pressure on the Suns with their defensive intensity. Dallas forced seven more turnovers and added four more steals in the last frame. The Suns finished with 22 turnovers and Dallas had 16 steals. Frank Ntilikina and Doncic led the Mavs with four steals each and the team defensive effort held Phoenix to their lowest point total all season. Jason had high praise for his team being able to force a Game 7. However, he quickly turned his attention toward the task of finding a way to win one on the road, something neither team has done in this series.
Game 3, 4 and 6 have been similar. 1, 2 and 5 have been similar. Here at home, our defense was great. Everyone participated. The starters set the tone. Offensively, we had some carryover from our film session. So, all good stuff tonight. Now we got to find a way to win on Sunday,” Coach Kidd said. “We have to figure out how to win on the road.”
Game 7 will be on Sunday, May 15, but tip off is time yet to be determined. Depending on the outcome of Friday’s Game 6 between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, the Mavericks/Suns game in Phoenix will tip at either 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC or 7 p.m. CT on TNT.