The Suns will have to contain Luka Doncic in Game 7. (1:20) The Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors will play in the conference finals. The Game 7s feature two different series. The Boston Celtics are playing the Milwaukee Bucks. Each of them have won classics on the opponent's floor behind superstars performances from Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks are playing. There are only two games that have been decided by single digits, with three others decided by at least 20 points. These Game 7s will help shape the legacies of players such as Chris Paul and Luka Doncic, regardless of how each team got here. Which superstars will lead their teams to the NBA Finals? Here are the things to watch ahead of each fight. The Milwaukee Bucks had a chance to get the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory on the final day of the season. The Boston Celtics played their regular rotation and moved ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The deciding Game 7 will be played in Boston on Sunday. Good old Game 7. The Bucks star said after Game 6 that he didn't know if he'd ever be a part of a Game 7. The teams have had no issues winning in each other's buildings. The road team has won four of the six games so far. Milwaukee has experience winning a Game 7 on the road in the second round, beating the Nets in Brooklyn last year to advance in a similar series. The absence of forward Khris Middleton is becoming more evident as the season progresses, and the Bucks are trying to advance without him. The lowest offensive rating in the second round was posted by the Bucks. In the sixth game, Antetokounmpo scored 44 points. The rest of the team scored 51 points. Milwaukee was minus 29 in 22 minutes with Grayson Allen on the floor and minus 22 in 19 minutes of Brook Lopez. George Hill has not scored a basket in three of the four games he has played. In an incredible Game 6 that saw the Celtics come out on top, the two teams combined for 90 points. Antetokounmpo has remained dominant and found a way to make his mark against the Celtics. He is averaging 35.3 points, 13.8 rebound and 6.8 assists, making him one of four players in NBA history to do so, and the only one to do it twice. However, his brilliance has been matched recently by Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who has responded well following a clunker in Game 3, where he finished with 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting. If the Celtics win the series, the 46-point performance by Tatum in Game 6 will be a part of Celtics lore. Milwaukee will need better performances from its role players in order to win this series. For Boston to advance, it will rely on a smothering defense and elite shot-making to bail them out of offensive ruts. The history books already in this series have been the subject of a battle between Antetokounmpo and Tatum. Game 7 could be a chance for one of them to make a statement. The man is named Jamal Collier. With their Game 6 win over the Suns, the Mavericks earned a little bit more recess time, as Kidd put it during his postgame talk in the locker room. It is an intentional way to frame a Game 7. It is the most important situation in the NBA. Kidd and the Mavs believe that there will only be pressure on one team in Phoenix on Sunday. On Sunday, May 15.
Bucks at Celtics, Game 7, 3:30 p.m., (on ABC)Legacies are on the line in Celtics-Bucks
All the pressure is on one side in Suns-Mavs
All times Eastern if necessary.
The Phoenix squad is coming off an NBA Finals appearance, had the best record in the league this season, and is led by a legend in Chris Paul, who is on a quest for his first championship ring.
Kidd said they are young. Six of the top eight minutes leaders in the playoffs are at least 29 years old. That fact does not fit his narrative. This is a great experience for us. We will be better, but this is just the beginning. Again, no one had us here but ourselves, and we believe that we can do something special.
Kidd pretended to be confused by the term elimination game, as the coach in his first season on the job in Dallas insisted, "We're just starting, and it's fun."
It has been a simple series so far, one that will be decided in Game 7 despite the fact that none of the previous six contests were close. The Suns hope that the trend of both teams protecting their home court continues in the series finale.
The last game in our house is exciting because we worked all season to have home-court advantage. I have never been in a Game 7.
During his first taste of the playoffs, Booker proved himself as a closer. The 47-point performance from Booker that Kidd witnessed as an assistant on the Lakers bench was often referred to. The starting lineup from the Finals run is led by Paul, who has 141 playoff games under his belt.
Luka Doncic had a big game for the Mavericks in a Game 6 win.
The young stars of the Mavs are no strangers to performing under pressure. At the NCAA, he won a pair of titles. Doncic has won many titles with Real Madrid and the national team.
This is an example of coming up big in a hostile environment. Doncic had a 31 point triple-double in the win over Lithuania that sealed the first men's basketball Olympics bid for Slovenia. He wants these kinds of opportunities.
Doncic said that before the game, you have that feeling of butterflies in your stomach. It's a basketball feeling, a great feeling for me.
Tim MacMahon.
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