In the first game of the second round of the series, although Doncic scored a game-high score of 45 points and 12 rebounds and 8 assists in front of the Suns, he could not help the team complete the final reversal. I have to admit that Doncic's personal ability is indeed very strong, but most of the time he spent on the field, he was in a single state, and failed to lead the other players in the team to participate in the offensive round. That's right, under Kidd's whip, the Lone Rangers chose to make a desperate bet on the playoff stage, frantically shooting three-point shooting on the outside.
However, with Doncic at its core, coupled with a group of not very reliable outside shooters, it is already doomed to the fact that their playoffs will not be too long-term. While the game will always be mixed with some luck, Lady Luck can't always be on their side. In the face of absolute strength, the Lone Rangers can only become losers in the end. And this time at the home of the Suns, ushering in the G2 battle of the series, what kind of posture should the Lone Rangers face? Let's move on.
At the beginning of the game, the Phoenix Suns, who played at home, quickly got into shape and took the initiative to take the lead. Doncic showed his might in the first quarter, sending 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in the full 12 minutes of playing, but still let the Suns, which were blooming everywhere, take a 4-point lead with a 32-28 score. However, after entering the second quarter of the showdown, the Lone Rangers, who were in a backward state, achieved an effective counterattack with the breakthrough of the outside three points.
Belstein, who came off the bench, shot 3-of-5 from three-point range in the second quarter, delivering 9 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and Dinwiddie also delivered a key 7 points and 1 rebound. Although the Suns' Crowder was able to step up, rebounding 3-of-4 in a single quarter, 2-of-2 from the free throws, and delivering 10 points and 2 rebounds, Doncic could continue to make a threat, delivering a key 10 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in the second quarter with an efficient output of 3 of 3 three points, leading the team to play a 32-26 score, not only recovering the 4 points behind in the first quarter, but also achieving a 2-point reversal with a 60-58 half-time score.
Doncic's performance in the first half was outstanding, and in the nearly 19 minutes of playing, with an efficient shooting rate of 9 of 14 shots, he delivered a game-high score of 24 points, as well as 4 rebounds and 6 assists. At the same time, the Lone Rangers' outside three-pointers also achieved a certain advantage, shooting 10 of 20 from the halftime three-point range, and the shooting rate reached 50%, which is still very efficient. However, seeing the Suns side that lost the initiative to take the lead, the three Paul brothers have not yet exerted their strength.
Booker sent a 9+2+2 statistic on 4-of-8 shooting in the first half, Ayton also shot 3-of-5 and handed over 9 points and 2 rebounds, and Paul, who had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Halfway through the game, it was embarrassing that they were still in the single digits of the team's starting core. But Crowder played himself in the first half, giving him a key 15 points and four rebounds, the only player on the Suns to score in double figures in the first half. The difference between the two sides is only 2 points, the suspense of this game is still very large, as long as the three Paul brothers complete their self-redemption in the second half, everything is still too late.