Paige Bueckers: Every basket was hard-earned against Golden State
Bueckers scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, but Dallas lost Game 1 of the first round 80-104 as Golden State's blitz and doubles made every shot difficult.
Paige Bueckers scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Game 1 of Dallas's first-round series against Golden State, and said none of them came easily. The Wings lost 80-104.
Bueckers was the team's top scorer. The guard said afterwards: "Every one of my baskets was hard-earned, they made life as difficult as possible for me. They have strengths: they close off zones, defend with two or three players, use the blitz and make every shot harder, so nothing was easy today."
She went on to the opposing bench. "As I've said before, defence has always been their calling card. I know that as a team they always act very cohesively. And coach Nat [Natalie Nakase] has enough experience to know that her team will always be ready and show its best. I'm sure she was unhappy even that they gave up 80 points," Bueckers said.
If Golden State keep doubling and blitzing in the same way, this may mean Dallas need more of their scoring from players other than Bueckers in the next game.
About this article
Prepared by the editorial team with the help of algorithms, based on the sources listed