By Dorothy J. Gentry
Sports Editor
The sun set on the Phoenix Suns- the No. 1 team all season long – in epic proportions.
Actually, in a jaw-dropping, are-you-kidding-me type fashion.
The Dallas Mavericks jumped all over the Suns from the tip of the game –leading the team by 42 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter – enroute to a beatdown of historic nature; defeating the Suns 123-90.
The Mavs are now headed to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since they won the 2011 NBA Championship. They will face the Golden State Warriors starting Wednesday. Head Coach Jason Kidd, who was on that championship-winning team, has led the Mavs to the conference finals in his first year at the helm.
“A lot of people said it would be a blowout…well, they were right…they just didn’t have us on the winning end,” Kidd said after the game.
“We’re not looking at the blowout. We just came in and executed our game plan. Offensively and defensively, we were active,” Kidd said. “I thought the guys did a great job for 48 minutes.”
Luka Doncic scored the first 8 points for the team and set the tone for the wire-to-wire win. “You can’t get this smile off my face. I’m just happy,” he said after the game in which he finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
