While Luka Dončić rolls up obscene numbers in the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns have made it tough on players like Jalen Brunson.
The Mavericks’ guard had a spectacular series against Utah in the first round, averaging nearly 28 points per game. It didn’t matter if Luka was there or not – and he wasn’t for the first three games. Brunson dominated.
The Suns have made life a lot more difficult.
In the first two games at Phoenix, Brunson had a total of just 22 points, including only nine in Game 2 Wednesday night.
That was after scoring 20 or more in all six games against the Jazz.
So guess who is in line for a bust-out night in Game 3 Friday as the Mavericks begin the arduous process of digging out of a 2-0 hole in the Western Conference semifinals?
Brunson has been remarkably consistent this season and he needs to regain that swagger. Nobody knows that more than he does.
“I ended up easing into Game 1 in the (Utah) series,” he said. “I just go back to the drawing board and think about what I did and adjust. We’ve been able to bounce back more times than not after a loss. We know what we have to do.”
No. 1 is putting the ball in the basket for Brunson. But the Phoenix defense has not been trapping Dončić. They’ve been sticking with their men, switching on the pick and roll and there have been precious few avenues for Brunson and players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie.
The defense has been a problem, too. The Mavericks have given up 125 points per game in the first two. That’s asking a lot for your offense to outscore the best regular-season in the NBA when they are pouring in the points like that.
But for Brunson, it’s just a matter of making shots – and a lot of them are shots that he’s made all season. They just picked a bad time to stop falling.
“(Luka) had a great game, but no one else showed,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We got to get other guys shooting the ball better. We can’t win with just him out there scoring 30 a night, not at this time of year. And we’re playing the best team in the league. We got to get other guys going. We got to get JB and Spencer a rhythm and get them good shots for Game 3.”
Brunson would like nothing better. But after missing the playoffs in 2019-20 and having a rough go of it last season against the Los Angeles Clippers, he’s learning how things can change from series to series in the postseason.
The hope is that Brunson can rekindle the greatness he had at home in the Utah series. He had a career-best 41-point night in Game 2 and the Mavericks never looked back like that.
The Mavericks hope he’s set up to have a similar impact in Game 3 on Thursday.
“I got to be better no matter what the situation is,” Brunson said. “In situations where I know I can effective, I need to be. So it’s up to me to get myself going.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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