NBA Western Conference Finals: Warriors defense vs Luka
The Mavericks pulled off a huge upset over the No. 1 Phoenix Suns, but will now face Golden State in the conference finals. Can the Warriors stop Doncic?
Luka Doncic has been unstoppable for the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs so far. He even had to carry the team for much of the series against the Suns. In Game 7, though, it was a team effort, albeit led of course, by Doncic, who put up 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
“He’s Luka. He loves the stage,” said Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. “As it gets bigger, he gets better.”
Encouraging words, considering the stage just got way bigger. In the Western conference finals, the Mavs will take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors had the second-ranked defense in the regular season. Will it be enough to stop Doncic? They’ll be missing a key player in Gary Payton II, who’s out with a fractured elbow for the rest of the series. They still can count on Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, though. Doncic averaged 31.5 points against Golden State during the regular season this year, and 126 total in the four games against them.
Game 1 of the series begins Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.