Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic hugged each other with big grins after the end of the game.
The Dallas Mavericks had just dominated the Phoenix Suns 123:90 in the decisive seventh game of the second NBA playoff round and had thus entered the Western Conference Finals of the North American professional basketball league - for the first time since 2011, when Nowitzki defeated the Mavs had won the championship.
"What did I tell you?!" Nowitzki joked with some other Mavs players like compatriot Maximilian Kleber on the field.
The German basketball legend watched the Mavericks away game in Phoenix and witnessed the Mavs lead by 30 points at halftime.
"'Let's go Mavs' chants can be heard here," wrote an astonished Nowitzki on Twitter about the audience response at the Suns' home ground, where many said goodbye prematurely because of the significant deficit or booed their own team.
"He loves this stage"
Doncic was happy to have won in front of Nowitzki.
"When you see Dirk on the sidelines at an away game, that gives you self-confidence," said Doncic at the press conference.
The point guard excelled with 35 points - already at half-time he had scored as many as the entire Suns team with 27 points.
"He's Luke.
He loves this stage.
The bigger she gets, the better he plays.
He set the tone," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said in praise of his protégé.
"I like these games: there is pressure, we were the underdogs but we all believed in it," said Slovenian Doncic.
Throughout the playoff series against the Suns, he was the defining player, averaging 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
"I can't get the smile off my face," Doncic said happily about the win and progress.
The home team had always won the first six games of the playoff series before the Mavs left the floor as winners in the decisive seventh game away.
“The team was incredible.
I can't remember when an away team pulled off a feat like that in a seventh game," added the Mavericks star and Nowitzki's legitimate successor.
The Mavericks will face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
The first game will take place on Wednesday (local time) in San Francisco.
In addition to the German Kleber, another national player also made it into the semi-finals.
Daniel Theis defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with the Boston Celtics at home 109:80 (48:43) and thus threw the defending champion out of the playoffs.
The Celtics were last in the Conference Finals in the 2019/20 season.
As a team, the hosts sunk 22 three-pointers — an NBA record for a seventh playoff game.
Grant Williams stood out, he was successful from the outside seven times.
Theis remained without points in six minutes, but got three rebounds and blocked two throws.
The Celtics will face off against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The series' kick-off meeting will take place on Tuesday (local time) in Miami.