"It's like with Harden in Houston, I heard all of it" - NBA insider doubles up on his claim that Dallas Mavericks will win a championship this season
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks has been on a tear during the playoffs and that energy helped them win Game 7 on the road against the Phoenix Suns. Until Game 7, both teams had registered wins on their respective home-courts, but what happened in the decider was highly unexpected.
The Suns were taken care of at home within the first half of the game, managing to score only 27 points. The Dallas Mavericks put up 57 points. Luka Doncic himself scored 27 points in the first half, shooting a clinical 75.0% from the field.
"I tried to warn you both. I told you the Mavs were making the Finals 2 months ago. What happened down 3-2? Who stepped up & made sure his team won by a combined 60 PTS in the final 2 games? Who sent the defending Western Conf. Champs home? Luka bleeping Dončić." — @getnickwright https://t.co/H4QINxQjXA
Based on the Suns’ strong regular season and performance in the playoffs last year, many favored the Suns to progress.
However, the Mavericks had an unmovable supporter in Nick Wright. On “First Things First,” Wright took the chance to remind his crew of his take on the Mavericks, stating:
“I tried to warn you both. I gave you all the longest runway imaginable. I told you the Mavs were making the finals two months ago.”
The Phoenix Suns showed no fighting spirit as their stars succumbed under pressure. Devin Booker and Chris Paul combined for just 21 points in the game, while the former shot a meager 21.4% from the field.
Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Deandre Ayton were non-factors – combining for 16 points. The Suns were blown out 123-90. Meanwhile, the supposed underdogs got strong performances from multiple players on their roster.
Spencer Dinwiddie rose to the occasion, dropping 30 points off the bench; Jalen Brunson contributed 24 points, and Luka Doncic came up with a leader’s contribution of 35 points.
Luka Doncic is HIM
He finishes the first half with 27 points 🔥
WIN or GO HOME Game 7 on TNT https://t.co/iwNqBc9XJG
Nick Wright was ecstatic when talking about Doncic’s performance and how his fellow critics were proven wrong, as he said:
"This needs to be a Jalen Brunson centric offense. You can't win this way. It's like with Harden in Houston. I heard all of it.
“What happened down three games to two? Who stepped up? Who made sure his team won by a combined 60 points in the final two games of the series? Who sent the 64-win, defending Western Conference champions home? – Luka bleeping Doncic.”
Luka Doncic’s exceptional run to help Dallas Mavericks reach the Western Conference finals
Doncic has been compared to the greats in the league ever since he was picked third overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. The Dallas Mavericks remained a bottom tier team in their first season together, but that started changing right from year two.
The Dallas Mavericks made the playoffs over the next two seasons, but the excitement was short-lived after they lost in the first round – both times.
Despite first-round exits, the Dallas Mavericks showed promise – as both the series went down to the wire against the LA Clippers. Luka Doncic averaged 30+ points in the last two playoffs, but has lacked help in terms of someone else stepping up alongside him.
That's a lot of buckets, fellas.
🪄 35 PTS | 10 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL
🥤 30 PTS | 3 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL
🪣 24 PTS | 6 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL https://t.co/Ctm4cHV0Fx
Nick Wright gave credit to the help Doncic received in their series against the Phoenix Suns, stating:
“Finally, Luka got a little bit of help and all of a sudden – that snarl that I’ve been teaching him since he was six-years-old, he got to breakout on these fake tough guys in Phoenix.”
Luka Doncic’s performance in the series was outstanding, averaging 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. After losing Games 1 and 2, Doncic stopped waiting for the offense to come to him.
He became aggressive in the search of buckets – challenging the Western Conference defending champions and subsequently ending their playoff run on their home-court.