A lot has changed with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks since the teams met in the Western Conference semifinals last season, both franchises making headlines by blockbuster trades that landed superstars last month with the Brooklyn Nets.
One thing that remains the same: Devin Booker and Luka Doncic really don’t like each other.
That was evident once again when the two got in each other’s faces during the final seconds of the Suns’ 130-126 win at the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon.
The confrontation occurred after Doncic missed an open 4-foot floater that would have tied the score on a possession immediately after new Suns star Kevin Durant gave Phoenix the lead with a pull-up jumper. Doncic expressed displeasure with Booker’s commentary after the miss, yelling for Booker to “Shut the f— up!” leading to a double technical foul, before stepping toward his fellow All-Star guard and exchanging more words.
Booker said he was telling the official that Doncic had pushed up and should have been called for an offensive foul. Doncic disagreed.
“Based on the words, I don’t think so,” said Doncic, who has 14 technical fouls this season, two shy of an automatic one-game suspension. “It’s okay. It’s just a competitive sport.
“All right. Next time, don’t wait until there are three seconds left to talk.”
As Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. put it, “the bad blood is still there” between the Suns and the Mavs stemming from last season’s loss to Dallas, the West’s top seed, in the second round. There was a chipper series highlighted by Doncic muttering, “Everybody act tough” while walking to the locker room after the Mavs’ Game 5 loss and standing next to Booker and smiling at him during Dallas’ Game 7 blowout win. is when they are up”.
“You guys say you don’t want everybody to be friendly,” Booker said after scoring 36 points in Sunday’s win. “Here you go. We got some smoke.”
It was a frustrating afternoon for Doncic, who was troubled by pain in his left thigh. He spent his usual rest time in the Mavs’ locker room early in the second quarter doing some stretching with Mavs manual therapist Casey Spangler.
Doncic said the thigh has been an issue over the past week, especially on Sunday when he said his left leg felt weak when he tried to shoot or jump. He had 34 points, but Doncic had a poor shooting performance, going 8-of-23 from the floor including 1-of-9 from 3-point range. However, Doncic said that the pain in his thigh had nothing to do with his missed shot with the game on the line.
“I just missed it,” Doncic said. “A friend of mine texted me: ‘I would have made one too.'”
The other superstars of the game certainly lived up to their billing.
Mavs guard Kyrie Irving, whose trade request from the Nets helped lead the Suns to the opportunity to deal Durant, had 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting and seven assists. Nevertheless, Dallas dropped to 2–5 in games Irving played with Doncic, deciding all five losses in the final seconds.
Durant and Booker combined for 73 points despite the Dallas defense constantly selling out to try to get the ball out of their hands, allowing Phoenix role players to get open 3-pointers. (Reserve forward Ish Wainwright going 4-of-5 from 3-point range in the second half was a key factor in the Phoenix victory.)
Booker got his 36 points on 15 of 25 shooting and also had 10 assists. Durant had 37 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a go-ahead shot in the final minute, when the Mavs double-teamed him once to take the ball out of his hands and then sent another defender into Durant. have failed. He got the ball back again.
As intense as the rivalry between the teams is, Doncic said he has great respect for the Suns’ talent.
“I mean, they’re incredible,” he said. “Those two guys are one of the best [doubles] in the league, Book and KD. But I love it. It’s competitive. I think today was a great game to watch.”