Tar Heels in NBA: Hot-shooting Green helps 76ers tie series (can Hubert Davis visit wait?); Bullocks’ Mavs tie series with Johnson’s Suns

By R.L. Bynum

Danny Green has found his shooting stroke in the last two games. With his Philadelphia 76ers now tied with the Miami Heat at 2 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, Green assured Hubert Davis that there’s no reason to rush to get to one of his games this round.

Green battled foul trouble but still had 11 points, three 3-pointers, two rebounds, two steals and a block as the Sixers earned a 116–108 Game 4 victory Sunday.

After Green went 2 of 14 from 3-point range in the first two games in Miami, he was 10 of 13 in the two games in Philadelphia. That matched his highest two-game 3-pointers total, which he also reached in two late regular-season games.

Playing at home might have helped with his shooting but the return of the masked Joel Embiid, who scored 18 points in Game 3 and 24 in Game 4, was the biggest factor after missing the first two games.

“Joel is creating so much space with those double teams,” Green told TNT. “Having a home crowd behind us gets us more confidence. But just the organization on offense helps a lot with him on the floor. Without him, we look a little discombobulated. We’re finally feeling comfortable, feeling more confident, knocking down shots.”

Now the Sixers need to figure out how to win a game in Miami, but that should be easier with Embiid back in the lineup.

“It’s going to be tough in their building; they’re going to shoot a lot better,” Green said. “We’ve got to make sure we keep on the glass. If we do the things that we know we’re capable of doing and doing it 48 minutes, there’s nobody out there that can beat us.”

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Davis was in Dallas to see Reggie Bullock, Theo Pinson and Cameron Johnson during the Dallas Mavericks-Phoenix Suns series last week and was planning to go to one of Green’s games in the Eastern Conference finals.

After the Heat went up 2–0, Davis told Green that he might need to go to a game this round instead.

Green told Davis, ” ‘Don’t count us out just yet. We might be able to still get there. We will get there.’ Hopefully, I’ll see Hubert and my guys in the next round if we continue to take care of business.”


In that Western Conference semifinal series, Bullock had seven points, two rebounds and two assists as Dallas evened the series at 2 with a 111–101 Game 4 home victory.

Bullock helped push the lead back out on a 3-pointer with 3:30 left after the Suns had trimmed their deficit to eight.

For the Suns, who had to deal with Chris Paul collecting more fouls (6) than points (5), Johnson collected 11 points, three 3-pointers and two assists. It was Johnson’s third playoff game this season with three 3-pointers after doing it only once in 21 playoff games last season.

Reggie Bullock, Dallas Mavericks guard/forward
111–101 Game 4 win vs. Phoenix —
Started; 39 minutes, 7 points, 2–6 FG, 2–5 3FG, 1–1 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, +9, 3.4 game score
Playoff statistics —
10 games, 10.9 points, 43.8 FG%, 40.3 3P%, 90.9 FT%, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists
Regular-season statistics —
68 games, 8.6 points, 40.1 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 83.3 FT%, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Mavericks-Suns Western Conference semifinals

Phoenix 121, Dallas 114
Phoenix 129, Dallas 109
Dallas 103, Phoenix 94
Sunday: Dallas 111, Phoenix 101; series tied at 2
Tuesday at Phoenix, 10 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Dallas, 9:30, ESPN
X — Sunday at Phoenix, TBD, TBD
X — If needed
———————————————
Danny Green, Philadelphia 76ers forward
116–108 Game 4 win vs. Miami —
Started; 24 minutes, 11 points, 4–6 FG, 3–4 3FG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, +6, 8.4 game score
Playoff statistics — 10 games, 9.4 points, 39.3 FG%, 39.4 3FG%, 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 of an assist
Regular-season statistics —
62 games, 5.9 points, 39.4 FG%, 38.0 3FG%, 20–24 FT, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Heat-Sixers Eastern Conference semifinals
Miami 106, Philadelphia 98
Miami 119, Philadelphia 103
Philadelphia 99, Miami 79
Sunday: Philadelphia 116, Miami 108; series tied at 2
Tuesday in Miami, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Thursday in Philadelphia, 7 p.m., ESPN
X — Sunday, May 15, in Miami, TBD, TBD
X — If needed
———————————————
Cameron Johnson, Phoenix Suns wing
111–101 Game 4 loss at Dallas —
30 minutes, 11 points, 4–10 FG, 3–7 3FG, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, -13, 8.5 game score
Playoff statistics — 10 games, 10.9 points, 46.3 FG%, 37.5 3FG%, 77.3 FT%, 3.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Regular-season statistics —
66 games, 12.5 points, 46.0 FG%, 42.5 3FG%, 86.0 FT%, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Mavericks-Suns Western Conference semifinals
Phoenix 121, Dallas 114
Phoenix 129, Dallas 109
Dallas 103, Phoenix 94
Sunday: Dallas 111, Phoenix 101; series tied at 2
Tuesday at Phoenix, 10 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Dallas, 9:30, ESPN
X — Sunday at Phoenix, TBD, TBD
X — If needed
———————————————
Theo Pinson, Dallas Mavericks guard
111–101 Game 4 win vs. Phoenix — 
Not active for game
Playoff statistics — Hasn’t played
Regular-season NBA season statistics —
19 games, 2.5 points, 35.9 FG%, 33.3 3FG%, 10–10 FT, 1.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists
G League season statistics — 14 games, 15.7 points, 40.4 FG%, 38.6 3FG%, 84.8 FT%, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals
Mavericks-Suns Western Conference semifinals
Phoenix 121, Dallas 114
Phoenix 129, Dallas 109
Dallas 103, Phoenix 94
Sunday: Dallas 111, Phoenix 101; series tied at 2
Tuesday at Phoenix, 10 p.m., TNT
Thursday at Dallas, 9:30, ESPN
X — Sunday at Phoenix, TBD, TBD
X — If needed
———————————————

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