The Mavericks battled but ultimately came up short against the Suns.
The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Phoenix Suns Friday night in Dallas, losing 114-113. The loss drops the Mavericks record to 5-4, while the Suns improve to 8-1. It was the end of a five-game homestand that saw the Mavericks go 2-3.
Luka Doncic led all scorers with 30 points. Kyrie Irving was just behind him with 29. Kevin Durant led the Suns with 26 points.
The first quarter was a tough shot making clinic, which should come as no surprise considering who was on the floor. Neither team could manufacture easy shots early on, but it didn’t matter, because Doncic, Irving, Durant, and Devin Booker hit tightly contested jumper after tightly contested jumper. The Mavericks defense finally slipped toward the end of the quarter, though, and the Suns were able to go on a run.
Phoenix started the second quarter up 36-26, and Dallas couldn’t cut into the lead. The Suns were able to execute their offense, while the Mavericks failed to find any sort of rhythm. Dallas was able to find enough defense to keep Phoenix from running away to a big lead, but they just couldn’t get enough good shots. And when they did get a good shot, they often couldn’t hit it. Turnovers were huge—the Mavericks had 10 assists and eight turnovers in the first half. That’ll kill you. The Suns stretched the lead just a bit and went into halftime up 63-50.
The break helped the Mavericks, though, and they came out swinging in the third quarter. They cut the turnovers out completely, protecting the ball for all 12 minutes, and surged ahead of the Suns by two at one point. But Phoenix recovered, chipping away close to the rim when their 3-pointers stop falling, and kept their lead, finishing the quarter up four.
Dallas wasn’t content to be close, though, starting the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to race ahead. They would eventually push their lead to as much as six, but the Suns continued to battle back. As the quarter came to a close, the stars once again traded big shots, and the lead changed hands a few times. Ultimately, the Suns were able to capitalize on the Mavericks’ front court weakness (more on that later) and control the rim. They grabbed some timely offensive rebounds, which led to a series of timely 3-pointers and buckets at the rim. With the game tied at 113, Jusuf Nurkic was fouled just before time ran out. He sank one of his two free throws, and that was the game.
Here are three thoughts from the loss:
The Mavericks can only beat themselves on offense
With Doncic, Irving, and Klay Thompson, the Mavericks are just too good on offense to be stopped. They can only be contained, as the saying goes. One way that happens is when they turn the ball over. They struggled in the first half due to all the turnovers, then protected the ball in the third quarter, and suddenly things looked much better. The Suns got 13 points off turnovers in the first half, and once that faucet was turned off, the Mavericks were able to take the lead. Dallas only committed one turnover in the second half, which led to two points, but those two points ended up being huge.
Pace was huge
For years the Mavericks plodded, slowly bringing the ball up court to execute their offense. Last year that changed, with a focus on getting up the court quicker and getting some easier points. Dallas has continued that this year, and this game it was exceptionally noticeable. Off rebounds, turnovers, or even opponent makes, the Mavericks pushed the ball hard most possessions. Irving especially raced up court to try to disrupt the Suns’ defense. Dallas ended up outscoring Phoenix 22-8 in fast break points, which kept them in the game. But more than just easy buckets, the increased pace helped keep the Suns defense scrambling.
Lively was missed
The Mavericks really needed Dereck Lively II tonight. Their front court fell into a hole it couldn’t get out of in 48 minutes. Gafford was in foul trouble all night, and while Dwight Powell performed admirably while outmatched (a familiar tale), by the end of the fourth quarter he was in foul trouble as well. This made attacking the rim fairly easy for the Suns, as well as letting them dominate the offensive boards toward the end of the game.
Remember, the game slipped away when the Suns secured four offensive rebounds with a little more than two minutes remaining and down three. It’s easy to think Lively would’ve changed the outcome of this game, keeping Gafford out of foul trouble and providing more defense and rebounding.
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