The Mavericks look to rebound and even the series vs. the dominant Suns in a hostile Phoenix environment on Wednesday night.
The Dallas Mavericks look to rebound and even the series vs. the dominant Suns in a hostile Phoenix environment on Wednesday night.
Phoenix leads the second round best-of-seven series, 1-0, after snagging a 121-114 wire-to-wire win at home in Game 1. As deflating as the first game of the series was for the Mavs, they rallied at the end by out-scoring the Suns 35-25 in the fourth quarter to provide some optimism heading into Game 2.
Dallas' stout defense, which improved from 20th to sixth in Defensive Rating in just one season, will face a huge challenge in slowing Phoenix. The Suns have shot 50 percent or better in all seven playoff games thus far.
LUKA MAGIC: Doncic registered a game-high 45 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a game-high-tying 8 assists in a game-high 44 minutes in Game 1. He joined Kevin Durant and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to go for 45+ points, 12+ rebounds and 8+ assists in a playoff game.
After Doncic's dominance in Game 1, coach Jason Kidd made Dallas' game plan very simple...
The Suns also swept the 2021-22 regular season series, 3-0.... So a win in Game 2 would be Dallas' first this season. The defending Western Conference champion Suns produced the NBA’s best regular season record of 64-18.
RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (0-1) at PHOENIX SUNS (1-0)
WHEN: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 9:00 p.m. CT
LOCATION: Footprint Center (Phoenix, AZ)
TV/RADIO: TNT, BSSW, 97.1 The Eagle (KEGL)
DALLAS INJURY REPORT: Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) is out.
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic
ODDS: The Mavs are currently 6.5-point underdogs to the Suns.
NEXT: The series shifts to Dallas for two games, tipping off at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
VOTE: Doncic has been named as a finalist for the 2021-22 NBA Cares Community Assist Award. An NBA executive panel and fans will determine which player wins the award. If you're a Mavs fan, or even just a Doncic fan in general, you can vote for him now.
QUOTABLE: Dwight Powell on rebounding better in Game 2:
"We just got to lock in, especially on their offensive rebounders. Cracking their guys. Sometimes you have the opportunity to sandwich guys on rebounds, especially when there’s a mismatch. That’s pretty much what it comes down to.”