Ayton and Booker lead Phoenix to decisive Game 1 win, Miami flips the switch at half-time

Led
by
center
Deandre
Ayton,
who
had
19
of
his
25
points
in
the
first
half,
the
Suns
scored
35
in
the
first
quarter
and
34
in
the
second
to
lead
69-56
at
the
long
break.

The
only
thing
keeping
the
Mavericks
in
the
game
was
superstar
Luka
Doncic,
who
had
26
first-half
points
on
his
way
to
45
on
15-of-30
shooting,
while
grabbing
12
rebounds
and
dishing
eight
assists.

Dallas’ defense
was
much
improved
after
half-time,
but
they
struggled
to
cut
into
the
lead
as
Devin
Booker
kept
things
ticking
on
his
way
to
23
points,
with
some
cold
shooting
late
bringing
his
figures
to
seven-of-20
from
the
field
with
nine
rebounds
and
eight
assists.

Cameron
Johnson
also
chipped
in
with
a
playoff
career-high
17
points
off
the
bench
in
24
productive
minutes.

With
a
16-point
lead
heading
into
the
last
frame,
the
Suns
moved
their
perfect
record
to
51-0
this
season
when
leading
after
three
quarters,
with
only
some
too-little,
too-late
shot-making
cutting
the
final
margin
to
a
respectable
deficit.

Dallas
will
need
much
more
out
of
guard
Jalen
Brunson
on
the
attacking
end
to
keep
up
with
the
powerful
Suns
offense
as
this
series
moves
forward,
finishing
six-of-16
from
the
field
for
his
13
points,
with
eight
of
those
points
coming
in
the
last
quarter
when
the
game
was
essentially
decided.

76ers
go
cold
against
Heat

A
dominant
second
half
saw
the
Miami
Heat
pull
away
for
a
106-92
Game
1
home
victory
against
the
Philadelphia
76ers.

It
was
a
great
start
for
the
Heat,
jumping
out
to
a
25-11
lead,
but
a
strong
Philly
fightback
in
the
second
quarter
gave
the
road
team
a
51-50
advantage
heading
into
half-time
as
James
Harden
put
through
his
12th
point.

Harden
would
only
score
four
points
in
the
second
half,
which
was
indicative
of
how
it
went
for
the
76ers
as
the
Heat
raised
their
defense
to
another
level
in
the
third
period.

Miami
outscored
the
visitors
56-41
after
half-time,
as
Tyler
Herro
led
the
way
with
25
points
off
the
bench
on
nine-of-17
shooting,
adding
seven
assists.

It
was
also
a
strong
scoring
game
for
Bam
Adebayo,
who
shot
eight-for-10
for
his
24
points,
with
12
rebounds,
four
assists,
two
steals
and
a
blocked
shot.

Tobias
Harris
was
the
shining
light
for
the
76ers,
battling
hard
on
both
ends
to
finish
with
27
points
on
11-of-18
shooting,
and
was
a
big
reason
for
Jimmy
Butler’s
poor
performance,
which
saw
the
Heat
star
not
play
a
minute
in
the
fourth
quarter.