Dallas Basketball

Doncic, Booker Headline NBA’s Best Rivalry: 'We Got Some Smoke'

There was no love lost between Luka Doncic and Devin Booker in Sunday's heated matchup between the Mavs and Suns.

Michael Mulford

In this story:

The NBA officially has a new top rivalry on its hands. 

If it wasn't certain before today's matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, it's a lock now. 

Add the lingering impact of Dallas' bludgeoning of Phoenix in Game 7 of the Conference Semifinals last season and the already brewing on-court rivalry between Luka Doncic and Devin Booker to the new acquisitions of former teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the overall rivalry … and we have ourselves a doozy. 

On Sunday, the Suns held on to knock off the Mavericks, 130-126, in an absolute playoff-like atmosphere of a game at American Airlines Center. 

With the Suns holding a 128-126 lead at the end of the fourth quarter, Doncic drove the lane and missed a layup attempt over Durant with six seconds left. Following Doncic wrapping up Durant for an intentional foul, Booker appeared to begin taunting Doncic's miss. 

Doncic proceeded to talk back to Booker, stepping up into his face before teammates and officials separated the two All-Stars, which led to questions regarding the scuffle during postgame interviews.

"I don’t think you can say it on camera," Doncic said of the trash talk. "He was talking to me. It’s not for TV. I would get fined."

Booker told the media that he was talking to the official, but like Doncic, wouldn't spill the beans on what was said.

"I'm not here to tattletale," Booker joked postgame. "You guys say you don't want everybody to be friendly-friendly. There you go. We got some smoke."

The two All-Stars had their fair share of moments in last year's playoff series, so today's kerfuffle was to no surprise. As Booker put it, it's all about the two competing.

"It's just two competitors going at it," Booker said. "I have no problem with Luka on or off the court, but when we’re competing, we’re competing."

Doncic seconded Booker's assessment of the competitiveness of today's game, but with a little touch of shade thrown his competitor’s way.

"It’s just a competitive game," Doncic said. "Just next time don’t wait till there are three seconds left to talk.”

If these two teams happen to meet again in the postseason in consecutive years, buckle up for a long, competitive series with what is now the league‘s best rivalry.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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