OVERVIEW
Following the Suns’ Game 1 win over the Mavericks, Deandre Ayton spoke of his team’s need to “break the dang gas pedal,” not letting up on their opponent.
Coming out of halftime down two points, the Suns did just that. Stomping their foot on the gas and never letting up in the second half of their 129-109 win over the Mavericks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Footprint Center on Wednesday night.
Using a 31-23 third-quarter edge, the Suns entered the fourth quarter leading by six and never looked back. Chris Paul and Devin Booker combined for 21 of Phoenix’s 40 points in the period, and the pair finished with plus-19 and plus-21 performances, respectfully.
Those two players dominated the second half, with Booker scoring 21 of his 30 points — he also had four rebounds and four assists — and Paul scoring 18 of his 28 points.
As a team, the Suns set a playoff franchise record by shooting an impeccable 64 percent from the floor (13-of-25 from 3-point range) and had four of five starters score in double figures.
Phoenix will travel to Dallas for Game 3 of their semifinal series on Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT. The game will be televised by ESPN.
HIGHLIGHTS:
KEY PERFORMERS:
Chris Paul: 28 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds
Devin Booker: 30 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
Jae Crowder: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists