DALLAS — In a rematch of last season’s second-round playoff series, but with a superstar addition to each squad, Phoenix pulled out a 130-126 victory over the Mavericks Sunday afternoon in American Airlines Center.
With Phoenix leading 128-126, Luka Doncic drove into the lane and went up for what appeared to be an easy 3-foot shot, but the ball rolled off the rim with 3.5 seconds left.
After the scramble for the rebound, Dallas fouled Kevin Durant and Devin Booker said something to Doncic. Doncic went face-to-face with Booker and both players were whistled for a technical foul. Durant made both free-throws, essentially putting the game away for Phoenix.
The fourth place Suns improved to 36-29; Dallas fell to 33-32.
In the battle of stars, Durant scored 37 points and Booker scored 36 for the Suns. Doncic scored 34 points for the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving scored 30 and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 ponts.
The Suns made 11 of their first 14 shots and took what would be their largest lead of the afternoon, 23-14, on a Durant 3-pointer.
Thereafter, though, Dallas’ defense somewhat stiffened – far from lockdown mode, but just enough to get back in the game.
Another Durant 3-pointer gave Phoenix a 41-33 lead three minutes into the second quarter, but Durant didn’t score again until 7:23 remaining in the third period, by which time Dallas led, 74-70.
The Suns pulled ahead 96-95 after three quarters, but Christian Wood scored 10 of Dallas’ first 13 points to begin the fourth.
Wood’s fourth-quarter run and Hardaway’s first-half scoring outburst exemplified Suns coach Monty Williams’ pregame response when asked about the difficulty of defending a Dallas team that now has two superstars.
“I think the thing that no one talks about is how they make it, not easier, but more efficient, for the guys around them,” Williams said.
“That’s what great players do. I always hear this term, ‘This guy makes everybody better,’ as if the guy that’s on the NBA floor is not a good player. But I do think great players create more open shots for people around them. I think that’s what those guys do.”
