PHOENIX — If one moment in the Mavericks’ 110-80 Game 5 loss to the Phoenix Suns embodied all that went wrong, look to the 5:25 mark in the third quarter.
That’s when Suns All-Star Devin Booker drove hard at the baseline for a layup attempt and Mavericks defensive stalwart Dorian Finney-Smith hip-checked him, sending Booker tumbling out of bounds.
Frustration.
Flagrant foul.
Some mockery of Luka Doncic.
Add it to the Suns’ 21-4 run that blew open a pivotal second-round contest.
After triumphing in Games 3 and 4 in Dallas to tie this Western Conference semifinal at 2, the Mavericks on Tuesday resumed the stagnant, sloppy, porous stretches that doomed them in the series-opening games last week in Footprint Center.
Doncic led Dallas with 28 points and 11 rebounds while Jalen Brunson (21 points on 9 of 17 shooting) and Davis Bertans (10 points on 3 of 4 from three) joined him in double figures.
But Booker (28 points) and Deandre Ayton (20) combined to shoot 20 of 33 from the floor (60.6%) to out-shine Doncic’s inefficient night at 10 of 23 (43.5%) and season-low-tying two assists.
The Suns outscored the Mavericks 33-14 in the third quarter to turn their 49-46 lead at halftime into an 82-60 lead entering the fourth and to gain a 3-2 advantage in what had become a best-of-three series.
While Phoenix avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season, the Mavericks’ years-long struggles on Phoenix’s home court continued.
They’ve lost 12 of their past 13 games in this arena — winning none since November 2019 — and the slide has put their odds of upsetting the Suns to reach the Western Conference Finals in major jeopardy.
In NBA history, just 39 of 222 (17.6%) teams that lost Game 5 to fall behind 2-3 in a best-of-seven series have come back to advance. Phoenix and Dallas both reached this conference semifinal by winning Game 5 to break 2-2 ties in their first-round series.
“I think we relaxed,” Doncic said. “That wasn’t us. That wasn’t ourselves. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
The Mavericks made early poise a major emphasis during Game 5 prep, and for good reason. The team that won the first quarter also won the game in each of the first four matchups this series.
Or as Jason Kidd put it: “Chris and Book are coming, so we have to understand there is no feeling your way into the game.”
Players took heed in the opening period.
Not only did the Mavericks not spot the Suns nine unanswered points to start, as happened in Games 1 and 2, but Doncic also tallied 11 points in the opening period while hitting his first 3-pointer after a 1-for-10 Game 4.
He and Jalen Brunson capitalized on one-on-one matchups against Chris Paul in the post, and Dallas weathered 12 points from Booker to lead 26-23 entering the second.
The Mavericks then out-scored Phoenix 12-9 in 5:14 without Doncic to start the second quarter.
Perhaps Kidd and his staff should’ve also warned players about the punch and mettle necessary to start the second half.
That’s when the Mavericks’ lapses spiraled.
Phoenix compiled a 10-0 run early in the third quarter with two 3-pointers from Booker and two layups from Ayton.
And kept on going.
The Suns returned to hunting defensive matchups against Doncic as they did in the second half of the Game 2 blowout and on defense forced the Mavericks into long offensive possessions that ended with difficult looks at the end of the shot clock.
Doncic often dribbled the ball for long stretches of each possession, surveying the defense and his individual defensive matchup, before taking an isolation attempt or leaving time for one or two passes elsewhere.
Throughout this season, Dallas’ offense has been most efficient and unpredictable when what the coaching staff calls “the blender” featured a guard driving into the paint to open space around the perimeter or to create advantages at the rim.
With little consistent ball movement, the Mavericks finished the third quarter with double the turnovers (12) to made shots (six). They’d averaged 12.5 turnovers per game in the regular season.
“We just got to keep getting in the paint and making plays for one another,” Brunson said. “I don’t think we did that enough. I don’t think I did that enough.”
Reggie Bullock, the primary defender against Paul this series, limped off the court with 8:51 remaining to finish 0 of 5 from the floor in 35 minutes, but Kidd said “Reggie’s great” when asked for a status update afterward.
Dallas trailed by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter, turned to an all-reserves lineup with 4:42 remaining and endured a scuffle in the final seconds that ended with Marquese Chriss and Bismack Biyombo in the tunnel and Mark Cuban and a gaggle of security close behind.
Doncic showed moments of star-level dominance, but one of his most glaring statistics — two assists — underscored how the Mavericks shifted back to the slow, solo, no-other-scorers-at-the-party approach that’s doomed them now three times in Phoenix.
The Mavericks assisted on just 9 of 21 field goals in the game while shooting 38% from the floor.
Kidd said his team has to “be better” to win Game 6.
And now to preserve the season.
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