The Phoenix Suns narrowly beat Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their playoff series 121-114; however, it isn't as close as the scoreline suggests.

Phoenix punished Dallas all game long and if not for a rather uncharacteristic fourth quarter, it would have been a blowout. Chris Paul and co. led by as much as 21 points, while the Mavs never even came close to taking the lead.

While the Mavs can blame their poor shooting for the result, the Suns just really outclassed them during Monday's contest. Phoenix finished on 50.55 percent shooting, which is already their seventh straight postseason game to reach such threshold.

Simply put, the Suns' efficiency doomed the Mavs as they had no way to stop Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Paul and the rest of the team. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Phoenix's streak is the second-longest in the shot-clock era–trailing only the 10 straight 50 percent shooting games that the Los Angeles Lakers registered in 1984.

Ayton and Booker led the Suns in scoring with 25 and 23 points, respectively. Luka Doncic had 45 points for the Mavs, but they countered that with their balance offense where six players finished in double figures.

The Suns basically showed why they are the best team in the NBA, and if anyone wants to beat them, they first have to do better in defending and making life hard for their offense. That is if the Mavs can.