Through two playoff games between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, superstar guard Luka Doncic has scored 80 points on 52 shots and dished out 15 assists. Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ secondary ball-handlers of Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie have combined for 41 points on 46 shots and 11 assists, which is part of the reason Dallas finds itself in a 2-0 hole heading home for Game 3.
After Game 2, head coach Jason Kidd stressed the importance of his team’s complementary scorers establishing their footing and providing Doncic some help offensively.
“He had a great game, but no one else showed,” Kidd said. “We’ve got to get other guys shooting the ball better. We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night — not at this time of the year.
“We’re playing the best team in the league, so we’ve got to get other guys going.”
Dallas raced out to a 60-point first half in Game 2, though struggled following intermission, when Phoenix outscored it, 71-49. Devin Booker and Chris Paul took over offensively, but the Mavericks’ offense didn’t offer any chance to keep pace with the Suns’ torrid shooting.
It goes without saying, but unless someone (or someones) can get going, the Mavericks will have an awfully hard time pulling off the already daunting task of knocking off Phoenix. Brunson, Dinwiddie, and the entire Dallas team will aim to turn things around when Game 3 tips off on Friday at 9:30 p.m. EST.
