PHOENIX — For the first three quarters of Monday night's Game 1, the Dallas Mavericks got torched.
The Phoenix Suns introduced the Mavs to the realities of playing in the second round, and dominated Dallas, in building, and sustaining, a double-digit lead.
But over the final 10 minutes of the game, the Mavs may have found something.
"I mean, that's how we should've started the game," Mavs guard Jalen Brunson said during the Mavs practice on Tuesday. "We played a lot harder. Played with better pace. That's just how we have to start, plain and simple."
The Mavs employed a small ball lineup, with Dorian Finney-Smith playing center. Dallas had five smaller players on the floor -- Finney-Smith, Brunson, Luka Doncic, Reggie Bullock, and Spencer Dinwiddie. That personnel spaced the Suns defense out, and the Mavs capitalized.
Dallas outscored Phoenix 31-17 during those final 10 minutes, including a 29-13 stretch for the Mavs, to narrow the margin from Phoenix's largest lead of 21, all the way down to five points.
"I think we can play that lineup," Finney-Smith said. "We just gotta [sic] rebound. Rebound and play fast."
Now, it's possible this was fool's gold. The game was well in hand, and the Suns appeared to be napping their way through garbage time, while Dallas made this run. But the Mavs need to find a way to slow down Suns center DeAndre Ayton, and Finney-Smith playing center might be the way.
"Yeah, I thought Doe was great at the 5," head coach Jason Kidd said. "He's showing that he's not just a wing player, but that he can also be a big. And we're going to continue to put that lineup out there."
And Dallas feels they can improve upon what they did, as well, by being more aggressive.
"We've got to attack more paint. A little too much stepbacks from me," Doncic said. "Attacking the paint is our lethal weapon. I think when we do that, we can score easily. Especially five-out, they have a big rotating, and we have to attack more of the paint."
But it wasn't just who was on the floor, during that stretch, that made the difference for Dallas. It was also a drastic change in mentality and approach, as compared to the opening minutes of Game 1.
"We played with a lot more tenacity and fight that fourth quarter," Finney-Smith said. "So we just gotta be that way, the whole game."