Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic rose up to the challenge as he displayed a dominant performance in Game 7 of the second round series against the Suns.

He called it his “Jordan moment,” referring to a famous scene when Michael Jordan made similar comments during a playoff series. Police officers with AK’a separating the rows in the arena back in Europe. Road game with pressure isn’t really pressure to him. Wow. He been playing in games on the road with fires 🔥 and flares going off in the stands.

The Mavericks' Luka Doncic likes pressure. And there's no more pressure than a Game 7. He delivered during Dallas' stunning blowout win over Phoenix.

The way we bond together and the way we play," Doncic said. "The whole team was just incredible. I think every player and every coach is appreciative." Doncic and the Mavericks accepted the defensive challenge, which ultimately put too much pressure on the Suns in Game 7. He wants to go toe-to-toe with the best and he wants to throw that knockout punch. "I thought he set the tone of getting everyone involved." The Mavericks held All-Stars Devin Booker and Chris Paul to a combined 21 points on Sunday, shooting a combined 7-for-22 from the field. It’s pressure," he said. "It’s Game 7. "It’s the same like trash talking. That’s what won us the game." "Everyone had the Suns to win this one, but the whole locker room believed.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic authored a dominant performance on Sunday night, in leading Dallas to a Game 7 victory over the defending Western ...

"He's Luka. He loves the stage," Kidd said. A major reason for the Mavs' belief was because of Doncic's track record of performing spectacularly in pressure situations. "He's the type of guy who wants to throw the knockout punch," said Mavs sixth man Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored a career playoff-high 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting, combining with Doncic to become the first pair of teammates to each score 30 in a Game 7 since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in the 2002 Western Conference finals. Well, they were right, but they didn't have us on the winning side." Doncic finished the first half with 27 points, matching Phoenix's total, and becoming the first player in at least 25 seasons to equal or exceed an opponent's scoring in a half of a playoff game. It's understandable that the 23-year-old Doncic does not recall the Philadelphia Warriors' 39-point Game 7 win over the St. Louis Bombers in 1948. "Today was just incredible. Dallas, which was coming off its first playoff series victory since the franchise's 2011 championship run, was a decided underdog in the conference semifinals before falling in an 0-2 hole with a pair of road losses. "So I give him credit for that. "I'm just really happy. Booker didn't score from the floor until soon after that. It was the whole team today," said Doncic, who averaged 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the seven games, leading all players on both teams in each of the three categories during the series.

Coming into the decisive Game 7, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were the underdogs against the Phoenix Suns. After all, the Suns finished the regular.

Evidently, this has placed a target on the back of the franchise for backlashes. To be honest, the Suns were becoming a bit cocky after taking a 3-2 lead in the series following the blowout Game 5 victory. Instead, they were utterly destroyed by Doncic and co.

If the Mavericks were to upset the Warriors and go on to win the title, Doncic would stand apart in modern NBA history, as singular stars rarely win so much ...

Candace Buckner: In the NBA playoffs, tempers rise and pettiness rules Meanwhile, Doncic just kept scoring and scoring against a Phoenix defense that started to crumble as the series unfolded. On Feb. 10, the Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis, Doncic’s highest-profile teammate, to the Washington Wizards. On April 10, Doncic suffered a calf strain in the final game of the regular season, an injury that sidelined him for the first three playoff games. Suddenly, Doncic has a chance to join party-crashers like James and Kevin Durant, who each reached their first conference finals at age 22. What’s more, Doncic was in danger of falling behind all-time greats like Michael Jordan, who won his first playoff series in his fourth season, and LeBron James, who checked that box in his third year. After picking apart Dallas’s defense earlier in the series, Phoenix guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker combined to shoot 0 for 11 in a dreadful first half. It's the same as trash-talking. His reputation as a big-game player — which includes his professional career overseas, his Olympics appearances and impressive series against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2020 and 2021 — has only swelled. For the Mavericks, the wire-to-wire victory completed a remarkable comeback from a 2-0 deficit in this second-round series and delivered their first Western Conference finals appearance since their 2011 title season. In the best moment of Doncic’s young NBA career, he was all dimples and teeth. Paul vowed that Phoenix would be back next season — “I’m not retiring tomorrow” — but the thoroughness and force of Dallas’s victory turned the series’ prevailing narrative upside down. There were plenty of reasons for joy following Dallas’s 123-90 Game 7 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, a stunning blowout that eliminated the reigning Western Conference champions on their home court.

You can't get blown out in a Game 7 and expect there not to be a good amount of slander.

If you’re going to have one of the worst (and most humiliating) playoff losses of all time, this is going to happen. You can’t be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, lose in such an embarrassing manner and expect to walk away unscathed. It seems like everyone and their mother came out of the woodwork to throw Phoenix, especially Chris Paul, under the bus.