'Attack Mode': What Jalen Brunson Must Do Again For Mavs vs. Suns

Jalen Brunson played a key role in the Dallas Mavericks' Game 3 win over the Phoenix Suns with a game-high 28 points.

DALLAS - With the need to avoid falling down 3-0 in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Dallas Mavericks counted on Jalen Brunson to have a strong bounce-back performance in Game 3 against the Phoenix Suns. 

Brunson delivered, to say the least. The Mavericks managed to win 103-94 with there being a clear emphasis to get Brunson going early. He scored 10 of his 28 points in the first quarter — already exceeding his nine-point performance in Game 3. Being aggressive was key, but so was Dallas being intentional about running actions for him. 

Can he do it all again in Sunday's Game 4 here at the AAC?

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

“I just felt like whether the ball was going in or not, the mentality was to be aggressive,” Brunson said. “I’ve started games before 0-for-5 or 0-for-6 and maybe finished 7-for-12 or 13.

“I saw the ball go in (during) the first quarter a little bit, and I just kept going and my teammates kept finding me.”

There was a noticeable increase in Brunson's usage rate throughout the night. He finished at 30.1 percent while his usage rate was in Game 3 (24.6 percent) and Game 2 (23.6 percent) were each below the 25-percent threshold. Making quick decisions and being aggressive went a long way.

“I think I played with a little bit more hop in my step and was getting to spots quicker and making decisions faster,” Brunson said. “The decisions came to me being aggressive, and my teammates just kept giving me confidence to go make plays and I just kept doing that.”

There was a healthy balance for Bunson between running ball screens and attacking in isolation along with attacking with the flow in transition and off the catch in the half-court. 

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

A prime example of how the Mavericks involved Brunson more intentionally in the half-court came during a Stack pick-and-roll possession early in the game. The Suns were bottling up the initial actions of this set earlier in the series, so Dallas used it to get to a side ball screen for Brunson to attack against drop coverage.

Brunson displayed clear aggression to attack the rim early and often. Whether it was pushing in transition or just seeing a clean lane to attack straight down the floor, he posed a lot of problems for the Suns' defense. He wasted no time getting to the rim in a game where Doncic struggled.

“JB was locked in,” forward Reggie Bullock said. “A lot of people was probably talking down about him.

“He’s been excellent for us all year. He just had two tough games early, but he came out and showed what type of player he is in the third game.”

The Suns prioritized attempting to cut Brunson off before he could finish at the rim in the second half. What makes him such a tough guard to contain is his ability to counter being cutoff with his pivots and patience before getting a clean look. 

When the Suns did not successfully contain Brunson, he played some bully ball to get to the free throw line. With Doncic being in foul trouble throughout the second half, getting to the line helped to stabilize the game and maintain a double-figure lead. 

To put a final exclamation point on his outing, Brunson reverted to an area he's one of the NBA's most efficient — attacking downhill after spacing the floor. With two defenders blitzing Doncic, Brunson knew it was time to be aggressive out of the corner to attack a defense out of rotation. 

Brunson played to his character in the first-round series against the Utah Jazz by being aggressive bullying his way to the rim when possible or getting to his paint game with pivots and turnaround jumpers. There were no answers from Utah to contain him.

“We talked about, not just with Jalen, but everyone,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “We got to get back in character, we got to get back to helping one another on the defensive end and the offensive end, and I thought JB did that on both sides.

“I thought he was in character, I thought he attacked early in the clock, I thought he didn’t wait, and that’s who he’s been all season, especially in the playoffs. Especially in that first series (against the Utah Jazz) he wasn’t waiting. He was attacking and I thought he did that extremely well for us (Friday) night.”

When the Mavericks take on the Suns in Game 4, Brunson will be relied upon to have another big performance. If he can get the job done, tying up the series 2-2 heading back to Phoenix changes their outlook significantly as opposed to trailing 3-1.