By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Dominating in the third quarter, the Phoenix Suns pulled away on the way to the 110-80 victory versus the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday evening. They took a 3-2 lead in the NBA Playoffs Quarterfinals best-of-seven series.
Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic recorded 28 points behind 10/23 field goals to go along with 11 rebounds, three steals, and two assists in Game 5. More European action in Latvian Davis Bertans logging ten points, German Maxi Kleber pairing four points with six rebounds, and French Frank Ntilikina with three points. Serbian Boban Marjanovic did not play.
The Suns enjoyed a comfortable fourth quarter after outscoring their opponents, 33-14, in the third period to open a safe lead. Devin Booker paved the way and shared the game-high 28 points with Doncic. Both Danish Gabriel Lundberg and Croatian Dario Saric (right knee) were inactive.
“That third quarter was no different than Game 1 or 2 here,” noted Mavs play-caller Jason Kidd, “When you talk about the Playoffs it’s about protecting home court. It’s hard to win on the road. So far, both teams have held serve. Now our goal is to hold serve in Game 6.”
Earlier, the Miami Heat rolled the Philadelphia 76ers, 120-85, for a 3-2 lead of their own. Coming off the bench, Turkish Omer Yurtseven had four points, one rebound, and one block for the winning side, and fellow compatriot Furkan Korkmaz tallied six points, one steal, and one assist at the losing end.
In both series, Game 6 will be played Thursday.
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