By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic produced 33 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and one block as the Dallas Mavericks strolled to the 102-77 victory versus the Utah Jazz and moved into a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series of the Western Conference Quarterfinals Monday night.
Challenging the Slovenian superstar, Hassan Whiteside was aggressive enough to throw him to the court provoking a reaction from other players. Whiteside, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Reggie Bullock were on the receiving end of the multiple technical fouls issued by the officials.
“It was nothing,” commented Doncic after Game 5 of the first-round series of the NBA Playoffs, “It’s playoffs, man. There’s going to be always attention, but it was nothing. I tried to dunk it. Wasn’t successful. These things happen in the playoffs.”
German Maxi Kleber, Latvian Davis Bertans, and Serbian Boban Marjanovic did not score. Fellow European player, French Frank Ntilikina was cleared to return to action after being sidelined with a non-COVID-19 illness but did not log playing time.
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will undergo an MRI Tuesday after picking up a left hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. French teammate Rudy Gobert posted a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double. Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic was held to 0/9 field goals and two points. Spanish reserve Juancho Hernangomez had five points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.
Elsewhere, British OG Anunoby went for 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals for the Toronto Raptors in the win, 103-88, against the Philadelphia 76ers. Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk threw in one point and one rebound, but German Isaac Bonga stayed on the bench. For the Sixers, leading the series 3-2, Turkish Furkan Korkmaz recorded three points and one rebound.
The Boston Celtics completed the sweep of the Brooklyn Nets featuring German starter Daniel Theis packing six points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Slovenian Goran Dragic logged ten points, eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal for the losing side.
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