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The Best of the Day: February 1st, 2021
See the best of the day in sports from February 1, 2021 including Devin Booker's GW 3-pointer, Luka's struggles in crunch time, and more!
RICHARD W. RODRIGUEZ / AP IMAGES
The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 2/1 here.
Monday night saw a slate full of NBA games with an abundance of close finishes, highlighted by the Suns-Mavericks contest. Phoenix’s Devin Booker hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds to secure the Suns’ second straight win over Dallas. Also, 4x All-Star and 3x World Series champ with the Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement, and despite his overall success, Luka’s struggles in crunch time continue to cost the Mavericks.
Here is the best of the day from February 1, 2021:
Devin Booker drained the game-winner in Dallas after CP3’s dominant 2nd half
The Phoenix Suns earned their second win in three days over the Dallas Mavericks Monday night by a razor thin 109-108 margin. It looked murky for the Suns, who trailed 77-66 with 4:48 remaining in the third. However, as was the case on Saturday when they were down by 15 in the third quarter in their win over the Mavericks, Phoenix rallied. A dominant stretch saw the Suns turn an 11-point deficit into a five-point lead midway through the fourth. From there, both teams traded buckets until the end when, with his team trailing 108-106 as the clocked approached zero, Devin Booker hit a 25-foot 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining.
👀 EVERY ANGLE of CP3 finding Devin Booker for the @Suns GAME-WINNER! pic.twitter.com/TYkAkMB6EI
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2021
Luka Doncic’s missed shot at the buzzer secured the comeback win for the 11-8 Suns, who have now won three in a row. Booker, after missing the previous four games with a hamstring strain, finished with 24 points in 31 minutes, connecting on 4-of-8 of his 3-pointers, while Chris Paul, who assisted on the game-winner, had 34 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds. For the struggling Mavericks, this will run their streak up to six consecutive defeats, bringing their record to 8-13 on the season, including 13 straight losses in one-score games.
Devin Booker has the 2nd most go-ahead FG (5) in the final 5 seconds of a game since entering the NBA in 2015, trailing only Russell Westbrook https://t.co/xGvOFp6X9M
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) February 2, 2021
Chris Paul tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 2, 2021
34 PTS
9 REB
9 AST
70 FG%
He’s the oldest player with a 30/9/9 game on 70+ FG% since 1983. pic.twitter.com/5T9SV4Ayp2
Honorable Mention: 4x All-Star Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement
Related: Stories of the Day
Luka’s lack of success in crunch time is holding the Mavs back from being a playoff team
Few teams were expected to take a bigger jump this season than the Dallas Mavericks after the year Luka Doncic had as a Sophomore and considering Kristaps Porzingis would theoretically be healthy for most of the season. However, the Mavs have failed to string wins together and their issues in crunch time have continued. Doncic is one of the best players on the planet, but in those final minutes with the game on the line, his production significantly drops.
Tim Hardaway has become the team’s best consistent shot-maker in the final moments as Luka often passes it off when defenses key in on him in those situations. The Mavs often find themselves staying competitive until the final possession, as they have in each of their last two battles against the Suns that have each come down to the wire. However, their best player’s inability to hit those crucial shots when the game is on the line has prevented them from walking away with victories on multiple occasions this season.
Luka had arguably one of the greatest individual playoff performances last year when he racked up a 43-point triple-double on a bum ankle with his partner in crime unavailable and his team on the cusp of facing a 3-1 deficit if he didn’t drain an iconic buzzer-beater and come up clutch for Dallas down the stretch. As amazing as that game was, it was one of the few times where Doncic has come through multiple times in those type of occasions.
Any Mavericks fan is obviously an admirer of Doncic as he’s an international superstar and potential next face of the entire league once LeBron retires. However, if they have been continuously watching Mavs games this year, they’ve witnessed Luka fail to make shots or instead decide to put the game in his teammate’s hands when the clock gets closer to zero.
The Slovenian Superstar is still only 21 years old and considering King James had a ‘choker‘ label on him until he got into his 30’s, Doncic has plenty of time to develop that clutch factor and become the hero Dallas needs to make a run at the postseason in the wild, wild West.
Luka Doncic is shooting 29.3% from three on 7 attempts per game this season.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 2, 2021
Only Kelly Oubre is shooting worse from distance this season (min 100 total attempts). pic.twitter.com/mzurKZtaHz
Most triple-doubles in NBA history before turning 25 years of age:
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 28, 2021
Oscar Robertson: 89
Magic Johnson: 59
Nikola Jokic: 39
Luka Doncic: 31 (still 21 years old)
Ben Simmons: 31 (turns 25 in July) pic.twitter.com/Wkq9vBXpmH
This Luka to J-Rich alley oop 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8RoDbzTxYx
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 2, 2021
Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day
DBook drained the game-winner in Dallas
👀 EVERY ANGLE of CP3 finding Devin Booker for the @Suns GAME-WINNER! pic.twitter.com/TYkAkMB6EI
— NBA (@NBA) February 2, 2021
Related: NBA Highlights | Phoenix Suns Highlights
PG Chris Paul, PHX (W @DAL): 34 PTS (14-20 FG | 4-7 3P), 9 AST, 9 REB, 0 BLK, 2 STL, 5 TO
#PlayerOfTheDay (2/1/21) - PG Chris Paul, PHX
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) February 2, 2021
TOP FACTS:
- Oldest player w/ 30 PTS/9 REB/9 AST/70% FG since '83
- Averaging 26p/6r/9a on 53/39/96% shooting in last 5 GP
- Started 8-9 FG, game-winning AST to DBook
KEY STATS:
34 PTS, 9 AST, 9 REB, 14-20 FG (70%), 4-7 3P (57%) https://t.co/kn976SaJTs
Related: Players of the Day
Phoenix Suns (109) [GW-3P] vs. Dallas Mavericks (108)
[Highlights] SUNS (+128; $12.08) d. @MAVERICKS (-128; $8.28) 109-108 (GW-3PM) [PHX +2.5 | o216.5]
Related: Games of the Day
Related: Facts of the Day
NBA Game Reviews: February 1, 2021 by Rob Mason
Monday saw six of the nine games finish within single-digits in a night full of close games, clutch shots, and more incredible highlights
Luka's continuous struggles in crunch time and Devin Booker's heroics are highlighted in Monday's NBA Game Reviews https://t.co/Oifov3WS3q
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) February 3, 2021
Related: Latest PSO Posts
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