After psychological-breakthrough Game 3 win, Jalen Brunson, Mavs look to tie series | townbrad
, did Brunson mince words about what the 45-hour wait between Games 2 and 3 were like, knowing he hadn’t played to expectation.In many respects, Brunson’s timely breakthrough mirrored that of the Mavericks, who in the process of pulling within 2-1 in this Western Conference semifinal series, conquered the mental hurdle of 11 straight losses to Phoenix.
Brunson and coach Jason Kidd said there was no locker room discussion about the Suns’ 11-game stranglehold over Dallas, but... Through two games of this series, Brunson totaled 22 points on 9-of-28 shooting. On Friday he missed his first three shots, but continued to be aggressive, finishing 10-of-21.
Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock were the primary defenders on, respectively, Booker and Paul, though Paul also credited Dallas’ traps, with big men Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber aggressively jumping out to the perimeter on pick-and-rolls and helping whenever the Suns got dribble-penetration.