Luka Doncic makes history as Mavericks force Game 7 against Suns; Heat eliminate 76ers

By Ben Morse, CNN

Updated 1109 GMT (1909 HKT) May 13, 2022

Luka Doncic dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns in the Mavericks' dominating Game 6 win.

(CNN)The Dallas Mavericks forced a Game 7 in the Western Conference semis, blowing out the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to level the best-of-seven series at 3-3.

Luka Doncic, facing the first elimination game of his young career, came up big with 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to drag the Mavs to a deciding game back in Phoenix on Sunday. In what has become an increasingly chippy series — in particular between the two young stars from each team, the Suns' Devin Booker and Doncic — it was the Slovenian guard who seemed to feed off that energy to raise his game. The 23-year-old shot 11-for-26 from the field, including 2-for-8 from deep and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line, on his way to a dominating performance. Doncic led the way in the Mavs' dominating victory over the Suns.Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised Doncic's ability to remain unflappable while facing playoff elimination. Read More«I don't know if he was playing as if he was trying to do something different,» Kidd told the media. «I think he enjoys the moment. »You guys have seen a little bit longer than I have up close. He's not afraid of the stage. I think you guys call it the first time winning an elimination game. He'll be in this situation a long, long time."It was a historic evening for Doncic too, as he became one of the fastest players in NBA history to reach 700 playoff points.Doncic took 22 games to reach the milestone, putting him in the top-five quickest players to achieve the feat. George Mikan did it in 23 games, Doncic is tied with Bob McAdoo on 22 games, and only Hall of