Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns: JaVale McGee breaks down steal-and-jam vs. Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic was rocking that baby back and forth with his usual crossover, between-the-legs dribble.

JaVale McGee was decoding it, though.

“He had sort of a rhythm to his dribble and so I was just timing his rhythm,” McGee said. “You could see it. See my body as I was swaying with him.”

Doncic had the Suns 7-footer right where he wanted him in an isolation situation right inside the 3-point line – until McGee poked the ball away.

“Once I tapped it and I saw the ball was loose, it was downhill from there,” McGee said.

Gaining possession, McGee dribbled up the court and rose over the 6-1 Jalen Brunson for the one-handed dunk that sent more than the sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center into a frenzy.

“I think I went outside the coach’s box,” Suns center Deandre Ayton said. “I was all over the place. I don’t know where I was, but I know I was bumping into everybody.”

The most exciting play of the night gave the Suns a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter of an 121-114 victory over the Mavericks in Game 1 of this Western Conference semifinals series.

“Great momentum for us,” Suns forward Jae Crowder said. “That play gave us some juice.”

McGee expressed his respect for Doncic, saying he’s “one of the best young guys in the league.”

The two-time All-NBA first team selection scored a game-high 45 points in Game 1.

McGee switched onto Doncic after a screen set by Dorian Finney-Smith that led to Suns wing Torrey Craig guarding Finney-Smith.

Although he’s shown the ability to tap the ball away, McGee was also thinking about Doncic pulling off a rip through move and drawing a foul on him.

Doncic attempted a game-high 14 free throws in Game 1 and made 11.

McGee decided to take a chance as Doncic had the same dribble pattern consecutive times.

Restarting it again with his left hand with 6 seconds left on the shot clock, Doncic got the ball knocked away by McGee, who then took off back down the other way with a right-handed dribble.

Cam Johnson ran with him to create a 2-1 break against Brunson. McGee looked Johnson’s way when he got to the 3-point line, but his mind was focused on finishing this play above the rim.

“I knew I wasn’t going to pass it the whole time,” McGee said. “I definitely had to keep the defense on its heels and take a couple of looks, but I knew I was going to dunk that thang as soon as I picked it up.”

The crowd instantly lost it in celebration.

So did McGee’s teammates.

“Our guys, we’re going to be extremely animated on the bench when anybody do anything,” McGee said. “We support each other in everything we do.”

Reggie Miller lost it, too.

“That play is going to be on every highlight for the rest of JaVale McGee’s life,” said TNT NBA analyst and Hall of Famer during the telecast.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JaVale McGee breaks down steal-and-jam against Luka Doncic in Game 1