Deandre Ayton scored 25 points as top seeds Phoenix overpowered Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday while Miami exploited the absence of Joel Embiid to rout Philadelphia in the NBA playoffs.

Doncic led the scoring with a game-high 45 points but it was not enough to stop Phoenix claiming a wire-to-wire 121-114 victory in the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series opener.

Ayton shot 12-of-20 from the field for Phoenix while Devin Booker added offensive thrust with 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

 

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