Chris Paul sets NBA record
Doncic leads Mavs into second playoff round
4/29/2022 7:26 am
The last throw of the Utah Jazz goes wrong, the Dallas Mavericks celebrate: After an eleven-year dry spell, Luka Doncic’s team is back in the second round of the NBA playoffs. However, the best team of the regular season is waiting there.
The Dallas Mavericks have reached the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since the championship with Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. The team around national basketball player Maxi Kleber and superstar Luka Doncic won the Utah Jazz 98:96 and thus got the necessary fourth win in six games. “It’s great, I really needed it, we’ve learned a lot in the last few years,” Doncic told TV station TNT. The Slovenian had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
“I’m just really happy we made it,” said the 23-year-old, who has never won an NBA playoff series. “We didn’t play well today. Our energy wasn’t that good,” he analyzed. “But a win is a win.” Kleber was not as accurate as last time, but still converted three of his seven attempts and had seven points and six rebounds. Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic had a last-second chance to win with an open three, but missed.
In the semifinals, the Mavericks meet the best team of the main round, the Phoenix Suns. The favorite for the title beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-109 and made it into the semi-finals of the Western Conference with a 4-2 victory.
Philadelphia completes semifinals in the east
The Suns struggled for a long time and were still twelve points behind in the third quarter. Chris Paul then increasingly took the initiative and hit all 14 throws from the game. No player in NBA playoff history had done that before. He ended the night with 33 points against the team that drafted him in 2005 and where he played his early years in the NBA.
The Philadelphia 76ers previously completed the semifinals in the Eastern Conference. The 132:97 against the Toronto Raptors brought the fourth win in the sixth win and made the series against the Miami Heat perfect. The 76ers start with two away games against the best team in the main round from the East. In the other semi-final, defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics around German national player Daniel Theis face each other. The home advantage in this series lies with the NBA record champions from Boston.
The only first round series that has not yet been decided goes into its possibly decisive sixth game on Sunday evening German time. The Memphis Grizzlies lead 3-2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who want to force a seventh game on their own arena. The Golden State Warriors around Stephen Curry are waiting for the winner, who had won 4-1 against the Denver Nuggets.