3 Things We Learned From Suns-Mavericks Game 4 On Sunday

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 111-101 in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinals series on Sunday to even this series up at 2-2.

After losing by a combined 27 points in the first two games of this series, the Dallas Mavericks have outscored the Phoenix Suns by 19 points the last two games to even up this series at 2-2.

The Mavericks beat the Suns 111-101 in Game 4 of their Western Conference Semifinals series on Sunday and now, this series that Phoenix was running away with early on has suddenly turned into a “Best-of-3” scenario.

While he has not scored 30-plus points since Game 2, Luka Doncic has been getting his teammates involved and he did so again in Game 4, allowing the Mavericks to spread the court and get their offense going from the perimeter.

The biggest difference right now in favor of the Mavs is that their secondary talent is playing much better on the offensive-end of the floor. After not having more than four double-digit in Games 1 and 2, Dallas had at least five players score at least 10 points in Games 3 and 4, including six players with at least 11 points in Game 4 on Sunday.

Luka Doncic led the way with 26 points, but Dorian Finney-Smith had 24 points, Jalen Brunson had 18 and Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie combined for 33 points off-the-bench.

Offensively and defensively, the Dallas Mavericks have a nice flow to their game right now and they currently own all of the momentum in this series heading back to Phoenix.

Being a 64-win team this year and finishing with the best record in the league, the Suns are more than capable of turning things around though. Chris Paul has not played as well as he should have in the last two games and being able to go back home, the Suns should be ready to go for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Mavericks’ win over the Suns in Game 4.

Suns Letting Officiating Get Inside Their Heads

The officiating in the NBA Playoffs has been very inconsistent this season, but bad calls are a part of the game. Not every call the referees make is going to go in your favor and this is something Phoenix needs to realize very quickly.

Phoenix was caught complaining about calls way too many times in Game 4 and while they may have had a very good case on several occasions, there is nothing good that can come from arguing with the officials all game long.

Chris Paul fouled out of the game after just 23 minutes, Mikal Bridges was given a tight whistle defensively and the Mavericks really dug their feet in on defense to irritate the Suns.

Mentally, Phoenix was not in this game and their attitude towards every single call that was made showed this.

“We all have to turn the page,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the loss. “I’m the main guy. I saw what happened. I didn’t agree with it. They’re not going to change it. You have to move on to the next play and we didn’t.

“It does bother you when you look at the film and see that you were right, but in the game, you can’t worry about it, because we gave up six points in a certain situation alone.”

All season long, the Suns have been a very poised basketball team and not one that tends to get into in-game arguments with officials, but they have felt that most of the calls being made in Dallas have been heavily leaning in favor of the Mavericks.

Heading into Game 5, expect to see the Suns let their game speak for themselves and it would not be a surprise to see them come out with a level of intensity Dallas has not seen yet in this series.

Dorian Finney-Smith Is Emerging As A High-Level Three-Point Shooting Threat

Dallas was searching for answers through the first two games of this series on the offensive-end of the floor and while guys like Jalen Brunson and Reggie Bullock have stepped up and hit big shots, Dorian Finney-Smith has suddenly emerged as the X-factor for this team.

In the playoffs, Finney-Smith is averaging 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and has shot 31-72 (43.1%) from three-point range after shooting just 39.5% from deep during the regular season.

Against Phoenix in the first four games of this series, Finney-Smith has shot 14-29 (48.3%) from three-point range. 

The 29-year-old forward has put together some of the best shooting performances of his career in this series and in Game 4, he made a career-high eight three-pointers on twelve attempts.

Known for his skills on the defensive-end of the floor, Dorian Finney-Smith is giving the Dallas Mavericks some much needed scoring on the offensive-end and is opening things up tremendously for Luka Doncic to be able to attack the Suns' defense.

Because of the attention Finney-Smith is now receiving, Doncic is able to have more room to operate with when playing one-on-one, making him an even more deadly scorer than he already is!

When Dorian Finney-Smith gets going from deep, the Mavericks' offense is extremely better than they normally are and Phoenix has had a tough time defending the three-point shot in this series.

Mikal Bridges’ Struggles Hurting Phoenix

In their first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans, Mikal Bridges was his normal two-way self for the Suns, averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and shooting 55.1% from the floor on 53.3% shooting from three-point range.

So far through four games against the Mavericks though, Bridges has only averaged 10.5 points and is shooting 44.7% from the floor, just 22.2% from three-point range.

What is also surprising is that Mikal Bridges has not looked as locked-in defensively as he looked during the regular season. 

The runner-up for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award has had a tough time keeping up with Luka Doncic and Dallas has put him in situations where he is split between two shooters on the perimeter when not guarding Doncic.

The Mavericks have done a good job neutralizing Bridges in this series, but he needs to be better moving forward for Phoenix to not only have a chance at advancing, but potentially winning a championship.

Devin Booker is going to do his thing every night and Deandre Ayton can be counted on in the paint against a smaller team like the Mavericks, but Chris Paul has been struggling in this series.

Given how strong of a defensive team Dallas can be, someone else needs to be able to step up and make a difference on both ends of the court for Phoenix, which is why Mikal Bridges must snap out of his funk quickly heading into Tuesday’s Game 5.

He does not need to be a 20-plus point scorer every night, but Bridges does need to make some adjustments to his game in order to try and slow down the Mavericks’ three-point shooting barrage.

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• Here's What Luka Doncic Said After Game 4: Luka Doncic met with the media after the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon in Texas. CLICK HERE.