Doncic was dominant, and he only worked three quarters to head up the takeaways

PHOENIX – It was the kind of game where no one would have been surprised if the Phoenix Suns would have raised the white flag.

At halftime.

At the midway point of Sunday’s game at Footprint Center, the Mavs had been so thoroughly dominant that they were ahead, 57-27, after Luka Doncic drained a three-pointer when he crossed over Cameron Johnson and sent him embarrassingly tumbling to the floor.

It was indeed an unprecedented performance by the Mavs, who led 57-27 at the half and won, 123-90.. It’s the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history, and the fewest [points scored by a home team in a Game 7.

“No one gave us a chance,” coach Jason Kidd said. “A lot of people said it was going to be a blowout.

“Well, they were right. But they didn’t have us on the winning side.”

Here are the five takeaways from the 33-point victory over the Suns.

LUKA: One of these days the rest of America is going to recognize just how great Luka Doncic is. I’m not sure why they don’t know this already, but that’s another story to be rehashed another day. In the meanwhile, Doncic was clearly the best player on the court Sunday, and the best player in this series. On Sunday, the fourth-year point guard finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds, and also was 12-of-19 from thee field, including 6-of-11 from three-point territory. Doncic set the tone early when the scored the Mavs’ first eight points and let the Suns know he was going to  be a problem all night. At the half, Doncic was so dominant that he had as many points (27) as the Suns’ entire team.

DINWIDDIE DID IT: For the second game in a row, Spencer Dinwiddie tickled the twine for five made three-pointers – in seven attempts – and finished with 30 points. Overall on Sunday, Dinwiddie was 11-of-15 from the field and just kept making one bucket after bucket when the Suns thought they could make some headway in the second quarter when Doncic went to the bench for his customary rest. Dinwiddie only played 25 minutes, but that was enough to make the Suns miserable. His impact also proved that the midseason trade that shipped Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Davis Bertans and Dinwiddie was a success and a major factor for the Mavs while proving to be the help they needed to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2011.

BRUNSON WAS A BURNER IN THE SECOND HALF: Give Jalen Brunson credit. Early on in Game 7, it looked like the moment was too big for him as he kept missing one easy shot after another. But in the second half, the Brunson that Mavs fans have grown accustomed to know and love finally showed up and proved why he’ll earn a huge payday when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. After scoring just two points in the first half while looking surprisingly timid, Brunson poured in 12 points in the third quarter and added another 10 points in the fourth quarter. With the way he’s able to effectively pivot on a dime and use his fancy footwork to get the advantage on defenders, Brunson became a huge problem Sunday for the Suns and finished the night 11-of-19 from the field.

BOOKER/PAUL WERE A NO-SHOW: Devin Booker and Chris Paul were a surprisingly no-show in the biggest game of the season for the Suns. It had to be embarrassing moment for the two All-Stars. At the half, Mavs reserve center Maxi Kleber had three points. So, too, did Booker and Paul, who combined for just three points in the opening half on 0-of-11 shooting. Overall, Booker was only 3-of-14 from the floor and scored a series-low 11 points. Paul was just 4-of-8 from the field and tallied seven of his 10 points during the fourth-quarter garbage time when the outcome was already clearly settled. If the Suns were depending on Booker and Paul to drag them across the winner’s circle, it just didn’t happened. Neither player established any rhythm or any leadership Sunday. It was as if they were in another world as both were completely dominated by the Mavs.

SUNS GOT DRILLED: Apparently, the Phoenix Suns read way too many press clippings – or saw too many sports talk shows – leading up to Game 7. How else can you explain their attitude going into Game 7? It was as if the Suns figured all they had to do was make the opening tipoff, and by the time the game ended they would be declared the winner. The Suns never led in this game – and there were no ties. The Suns shot a 2022 playoff low 37.9 percent from the field and also got out-rebounded, 43-39, The Mavs outhustled the Suns, out-shot the Suns, and they also got more than they share of the 50/50 balls. It was a complete dominant performance on the part of the Mavs, who led by an astonishing 46 pointe (111-65) midway through the fourth quarter.

Twitter: @DwainPrice