NBA playoffs | Luka Doncic stars in Mavericks rout of Suns, Celtics beat Bucks
The Hindu
Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics eliminated the 2021 NBA finalists Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of their respective NBA playoff semifinals
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 as the Dallas Mavericks stunned the top-seeded Phoenix Suns with a 123-90 Game 7 blowout, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.
Dallas broke through on the road after the home team won the first six games, dominating in a hostile environment from start to finish. It was an embarrassing no-show for the playoff-tested Suns—who advanced to the NBA Finals last season.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks will face third-seeded Golden State Warriors, with Game 1 on May 18 in San Francisco.
Luka Doncic gave the Mavs an early lead, making his first three shots, including two 3-pointers. That helped Dallas push to a 27-17 advantage in the first quarter and a whopping 57-27 cushion at the halftime break, with Luka Doncic matching the Suns' total.
The Suns missed shots they usually make, made bad passes they usually don’t make and looked nothing like the team that won an NBA-best 64 games during the regular season. By halftime, many Suns fans were booing,
Phoenix All-Star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker were never a factor. The 37-year-old Paul had 10 points and four assists. Booker had 11 points and shot 3 of 14.
Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Boston set a Game 7 record with 22 3-pointers and the Celtics beat defending champion Milwaukee in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference final.
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