Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton led the way for Phoenix to blow past Dallas, 110-80, to take a 3-2 lead as the second-round series shifts back to Dallas for Game 6.
Booker scored 28 points and secured seven rebounds, including 12 points in the third quarter, and Ayton added 20 and nine rebounds for the Suns. Booker has now scored 840 points in 30 career playoff games. The three-time All-Star is one of 18 players in NBA history with at least 800 points in his first 30 playoff games. Booker joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Donovan Mitchell among active players to accomplish the feat.
In his Book bag tonight.
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 11, 2022
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/Pl0XXw4r8B
The Suns Game 5 victory was powered by a solid third-quarter performance, outscoring the Mavs, 33-14. Phoenix opened up the second half with an 11-4, punctuated by a pair of Booker three-pointers to help the Suns take a 61-50 lead. A Dallas timeout did little to stop the bleeding, with the Suns rolling to an 82-60 lead going into the final quarter.
On the other side, the Mavericks were unable to do much well after turning the ball over in the third quarter. When they cough the ball up, the Dallas offense regressed to a heliocentric offense revolved around Luka Doncic working his magic. But Luka Legend couldn’t do much to save the Mava despite finishing Game 5 with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The Mavs overall shot just 38 percent from the field. Jalen Brunson posted 21 points and seven boards.
Cooking up early 🔥
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) May 11, 2022
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/4pYb88tqMm
“I think we relaxed. That wasn’t us.” Doncic said about the Mavs’ dismal third-quarter performance. “That wasn’t ourselves. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
Luka Doncic on the Mavs' 3rd quarter spiral: "I think we relaxed. That wasn't us. That wasn’t ourselves. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) May 11, 2022
Phoenix will look to close out their second series with Dallas on Thursday.
