The Dallas Mavericks secured an important 130-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday at the American Airlines Center, ending Dallas’ 10-game regular-season losing streak against the Suns.
Phoenix had rallied from at least five points down entering the fourth quarter in each of the last six meetings against Dallas, including the season opener, when Dallas blew a 22-point lead in the second half of a 107-105 loss.
Now the Mavericks can say goodbye to the ten-game losing streak after a 28-8 run covering most of the last 10 minutes of the first quarter gave Dallas a commanding lead it would preserve.
Luka Doncic led the team with 33 points, eight assists, and six rebounds and was able to rest the entirety of the fourth quarter. Doncic’s step-back 27-footer with four seconds remaining in the first half gave Dallas a 26-point halftime lead (67-41).
The Suns trailed by as many as 27 and never got closer than 17 in the second half, as the Mavericks won their third game in its last four contests.
While Dallas pummeled Phoenix in last season’s Western Conference semifinals, winning by 33 points in Game 7 in Phoenix, the regular-season losing streak to the Suns had become a tiresome storyline following the team, especially after the season-opening collapse.
The Mavericks will be happy to put that storyline to rest.
WHAT TO KNOW
The win may be the Mavericks’ most impressive of a season filled with as many surprising losses as good wins. The Suns (16-8) are in first place in the Western Conference, and Dallas entered the night in 10th place in the West, but now the Mavericks (12-11) trail the Suns by only 3.5 games.
The loss is just Phoenix’s second in its last nine games, while Dallas won back-to-back games for the first time in three weeks. The Mavericks beat the Knicks 121-100 in New York two days earlier.
Dallas outscored the Knicks 69-41 in the second half of the blowout win, then outscored Phoenix in the first half 67-41.
Hot three-point shooting has boosted the Mavericks in their consecutive blowout wins. Dallas made 15-of-31 (48.4%) three-point attempts in the second half against the Knicks and 20-of-41 three-pointers (48.7%) against the Suns.
Dallas’s defense was also crucial, limiting a high-powered Phoenix offense to 26% shooting in the first quarter and 43% throughout the whole game. Suns’ All-Star guard Devin Booker, who entered the night averaging 29.1 points and 49.9% shooting, was also limited, missing his first seven shots and finishing with 11 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
Six Mavericks finished in double figures. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21, while Chrisitan Wood had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Josh Green scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime and tied his career-best in plus-minus at plus-26. Rookie Jaden Hardy scored 10 points in the final 2:25, two days after getting the first points of his career (five) against the Knicks.
Tim Hardaway Jr. continued his turnaround, scoring 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting. In the last four games, all as a starter, he is averaging 23.5 points and shooting 24-of-47 (51%) from three-point range.
WHO SAID
Mavericks players believe the dominant win over the conference-leading Suns signifies that the team has turned a corner.
“It’s still early in the season, but for the most part, I think we’re finding it,” Hardaway said. “We’re closer than we were before. We’re just trying to move in that direction defensively – and continuing to trust one another on the floor.”
“They have a great team, great players,” Doncic said of the Suns. “But I think this showed that we can play. When we guard, when we defend, it shows you we can play.”
FREE THROWS
Free agent NFL receiver Odell Beckham Jr. attended the game and sat courtside with two Dallas Cowboys stars, linebacker Micah Parsons and cornerback Trevon Diggs.
When Beckham was shown on the video board, fans chanted, “OBJ! OBJ!”
He is visiting Dallas and the Cowboys through Tuesday as he decides where to sign.
Doncic said he spoke briefly with Beckham after the game.
“I tried,” Doncic said of recruiting Beckham. “After the game, I saw him. So, hopefully. I can’t say nothing. Go Cowboys.”
NEXT UP
Holding a comfortable lead through the second half allowed key Dallas players to rest down the stretch. That could help the Mavericks as they play the second game of a back-to-back on Tuesday night in Denver.
