Luka Doncic leads Mavericks to a storming win over Phoenix Suns

In a see-saw Western Conference semifinals that ebbed and flowed over six games, Dallas Mavericks upset the odds to seal a place in the conference finals, storming past Phoenix Suns in Game 7. The Suns have been the NBA’s form team in the regular season, winning 64 games over its course. However, they had no answer to Luka Doncic. The Ljubljana lad, all of 23, overpowered the no.1 seeded Suns, powering the Mavs into their first conference final since 2011.

While Doncic wasn’t solely responsible for dumping out the Suns, he alone tallied as many points as the Suns managed in the first half: 27. The Slovenian ultimately finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in his 30 minutes of play. Ably assisted by teammate Spencer Dinwiddie who scored 30 points of his own, the Mavs eclipsed the Suns courtesy of a tour-de-force from a rising giant of the game. Hailed by many to be destined for greatness, Doncic’s exploits in Game 7 have drawn parallels to Jordan’s 63 point show against Boston Celtics way back in 1986 and James’ pasting of the Pistons, which is of more recent vintage. It is undeniable that the 6ft-7inch point-guard has many miles left to stomp, but he is steadily ticking off milestones similar in scope and scale to those achieved by greats before him. Although a tilt at the title is perhaps a step too far at the moment, Golden State Warriors won’t quite enjoy having to go toe-to-toe against a Mavericks side powered by the Balkan. On a lighter note, I’d hazard the entirety of Ljubljana is relieved to now have someone normal, compared to the sniff-a-minute Hegel reincarnate Zizek, as their poster boy.

For the Suns, Chris Paul was underwhelming once again. Since turning 37 on the night of game 3, the point guard has experienced a dramatic drop-off. Averaging 22.6 points, 9.9 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game before his birthday, he has since fallen to 9.4 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 turnovers per game. Meanwhile, centre Deandre Ayton played only 17 minutes of the crucial game 7; when Suns’ coach, Monty Williams, was asked why he replied with a curt, “It’s internal.”