Dallas Mavericks tie series 2-2 vs Suns with Game 5 heading to Phoenix

The Dallas Mavericks punch the Suns back to tie their series with the Phoenix Suns at two games apiece. 

The Dallas Mavericks took Game 4 with a 111-101 victory vs. the Phoenix Suns. Sunday afternoon’s win tied the series at two games apiece, and momentum has suddenly shifted to the Mavericks.

Game 5 will be a home for Phoenix, and winning is of the utmost importance.

Usually, Luka Doncic or Jalen Brunson have had to carry the offense in the playoffs for the Mavs to have a chance to win. The Mavs’ Game 4 victory was more of a balanced effort. The leading scorer for the Mavericks was Luka Doncic, with 26 points.

Not far behind Doncic was the fourth-year pro, Dorian Finney-Smith. He had a playoff career-high 24 points on eight made three-pointers. The Mavericks are a dangerous team when players like Finney-Smith can go off for eight three-pointers in a game.

Luka did not have a great night shooting. He went 9-25 from the field, and 1-10 from deep, certainly not his best night offensively. Doncic still racked up 11 assists, seven rebounds, and three steals to help the Mavericks win.

Doncic got into some early foul trouble after receiving a technical foul in the first quarter.

Another player who dealt with foul trouble in Game 4 was Chris Paul, who fouled out with nine minutes left after an extremely questionable foul was called. Above is a clip of his sixth and final foul of the game. If you ask me, I think that it’s a bad call.

Chris Paul was having an off-night on top of the foul trouble he was in. He finished the game with five points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Paul only played 23 minutes in Game 4, much less than the 34.6 minutes per game he’s been playing in the 2022 playoffs.

Devin Booker led all scorers in Game 4 with 35 points. He went 10-22 from the field, 3-6 from deep, and 12-13 from the free-throw line. All four other starters for the Suns combined for 40 total points.

Both Dallas and Phoenix need two more wins to advance to the Conference Finals, with just three games left in the series. The Suns had the best record in the NBA this season with 64 wins, but have had some struggles in the 2022 postseason.

The eight-seed New Orleans Pelicans took Phoenix six games, and the same thing will happen in this series with the Mavericks. Dallas is looking to spoil the Suns’ hopes of making two consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals.

Phoenix looks to bounce back after losing both Games 3 and 4 in Dallas. The Suns are eager to get back in the win column, and Dallas has momentum on their side.

Do the reigning Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns have an answer for Dallas or are the Mavericks ready to write their own history?