LUKA Doncic had a double-double and Dorian Finney-Smith led a 3-point shooting barrage as the host Dallas Mavericks defeated the visiting Phoenix Suns 111-101 on Sunday (Monday in Manila) to even their Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
Doncic had 26 points and 11 assists and Finney-Smith scored 24 points, making 8 of 12 3-pointers as the Mavericks finished 20 of 44 from beyond the arc. Jalen Brunson scored 18 points, Davis Bertans scored 12, Maxi Kleber had 11 and Spencer Dinwiddie had 10.
Devin Booker scored 35 points, Jae Crowder had 15, Deandre Ayton added 14 and 11 rebounds and Cameron Johnson scored 11 to lead the Suns, who made 9 of 25 3-pointers.
Suns guard Chris Paul played just 23 minutes, finishing with five points and seven assists before fouling with 8:58 left. Game 5 will be Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila) in Phoenix.
In the other game, James Harden exploded for 31 points after a scoreless first quarter as the fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers stopped the top-seeded Miami Heat 116-108 in Philadelphia, tying the teams’ best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games each.
Harden added nine assists and seven rebounds, applying the killing blow by drilling a 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining for a 114-103 advantage. The Sixers also got 24 points and 11 rebounds from Joel Embiid, while Tyrese Maxey hit for 18 points.
Game 5 of the series is set for Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila) in Miami, where the Heat easily won the first two games. But that was against a Philadelphia team missing Embiid, who was sidelined with a concussion and a fractured orbital suffered in Game 6 of the 76ers’ first round series win over Toronto.
