Luka Doncic hailed Kyrie Irving's performance against the Los Angeles Clippers as "unbelievable" after the Dallas Mavericks progressed in the playoffs.
Irving starred with 30 points, six rebounds and four assists as the Mavs won 114-101 on Friday to seal a 4-2 series victory.
Eight-time All-Star Irving scored 28 points in the second half to propel the Mavs to victory, leaving teammate Doncic, who finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists, in awe.
"I would say unbelievable," Doncic said of Irving's display.
"So it's even more special, but just to have the guy like that on your team, it's a pleasure.
"Just working with him, just playing with him, it's a pleasure no matter what. He's always positive energy, always. Not even one second of negative energy, which helps a lot, helps everybody and we're so happy to have him."
Across the series, Irving averaged 26.5 points and 51.4 per cent shooting.
"He doesn't force anything," Mavs forward Derrick Jones Jr. added of Irving, who joined Dallas from the Brooklyn Nets in 2023.
"He lets the game come to him and he knows the perfect moments where he should be more ultra-aggressive."
A bullish Irving said: "I just got to get there to that point to be able to be ready to have the other team submit.
"One of the hardest things to do as a competitor is to have your opponent concede or submit. And I do want to take this time to give a respectful shoutout and also show my respect to the Clippers organisation and the players. It's always fun."
Clippers star Paul George bowed to Irving's imperious performance.
"You give someone like Kai those looks, that basket gets bigger and bigger," he said.
"I thought that was really all he needed to see. Everything else was a playground for him."
The Mavs will face the Oklahoma City Thunder for a place in the Conference finals.
New Phoenix boss Budenholzer would coach Suns 'if it was on the moon'
Mike Budenholzer admitted he would coach the Phoenix Suns, even if the team "was on the moon".
The two-time NBA Coach of the Year, who guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the title in 2021, was named Frank Vogel's successor at Footprint Center last week.
Arizona-born Budenholzer returns to his hometown after taking the 2023-24 season out, having previously enjoyed five-year stints with the Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.
The 54-year-old has only missed out on the postseason once in his 10 previous NBA campaign, guiding his teams to six division titles and entering the playoffs as top seeds on four occasions.
Budenholzer now hopes to achieve something similar with the Suns, who endured a disappointing season under Vogel, which culminated in a 4-0 first-round series defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"It's mind-boggling to me, like mind-blowing, to think that I'm going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns," he told reporters during his introductory news conference.
"I'm excited about working with this roster and these players. We have great players and, with great players, comes great expectations. I think we embrace that.
"The biggest message I want you to hear is that I would coach this team if it was on the moon. I would coach this team if it was in Alaska, if these players were in Denmark. I would go anywhere to coach this team."
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
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