Chris Paul’s big fourth-quarter powers Suns to 2-0 series lead

14 fourth-quarter points courtesy of veteran point guard Chris Paul has powered the Phoenix Suns to a 129-109 Game 2 win over the Dallas Mavericks to extend their series lead to two games to nothing.

Paul had 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists on the game and capped off the memorable night with a 14-point, fourth-quarter explosion in front of a crazed Phoenix crowd. Devin Booker was the Suns’ leading scorer with 30 points on 11-of-19 from the field and 5-of-8 from three, to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists, whilst Jae Crowder finished with an efficient 15 points and 7 rebounds. Foul trouble kept Deandre Ayton quiet for much of the night, however, the production of reserve bigs JaVale McGee and Bismack Biyombo helped to offset the lack of Ayton, with the veteran centres combining for 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks off the bench. Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Mikal Bridges had a quieter night but still managed to finish with 11 points on 5-of-6 from the field and 6 assists to go with his ever-potent work on the defensive end.

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Luka Dončić was again Dallas’ standout, finishing with 35 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, all of which were team-highs. The 23-year-old hit 13 of his 22 field-goal attempts and 5 of his 10 threes but did turn the ball over 7 times and finish a team-worst -28. Reggie Bullock was Dallas’ second-leading scorer with 16 points on 4-of-8 from three, whilst Spencer Dinwiddie added 11 points on 3-of-10 from the field off the bench. No other Maverick reached double-figures scoring and Dončić was their only player with more than a pair of assists. First-round hero Jalen Brunson had just 9 points on 3-of-12 from the field, whilst Dorian Finney-Smith made just one shot in his 20 minutes of action.

Dallas overcame a hot start from Phoenix to take a two-point lead into halftime before a Phoenix turned things around in the third and looked near unstoppable in the fourth. The 64-win Suns shot better percentages from the field, from three, and from the stripe, all whilst winning the rebounding and assists battle and blocking six shots to Dallas’ one.

Game 3 will be played in Dallas on Saturday and the Mavericks can all but kiss their season goodbye if they drop their third in-a-row. Games 1 and 2 have been fiery; despite his special play, Dončić could be seen exchanging words with Suns’ players and fans and appeared to have perhaps by rattled by it. Time will tell if a change of arena changes the Mavericks’ fortunes but the Suns look well on their to a second-straight Western Conference Finals appearance.

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