DALLAS — The Mavs thought they learned their lesson in mid-November, the first time they blew a fourth-quarter lead against the Suns.
Definitely after the second time, they figured, when the same happened again a couple days later.
But by Thursday night in American Airlines Center, Dallas lost, 109-101, its third straight to Phoenix, while showing it still hasn’t figured out how to slow the NBA’s best team in crunch time.
The Mavericks entered the fourth quarter leading 82-74, but the Suns outscored them 35-19 to close the game, including 10-2 in the last 3:10.
On a night when Luka Doncic ignited several moments of raucous excitement as a much-needed boost in the second game of a back-to-back, the Mavericks didn’t translate his latest standout performance into what would’ve been their 11th win in 12 games
Doncic finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 38 minutes while shooting 9 of 23 from the field.
But the Suns’ All-Star guard duo of Devin Booker (28 points) and Chris Paul (20 points and 11 assists) proved too steady and poised for a Mavericks team playing the second night of a back-to-back and its third game in four days.
Much like the Suns did when they outscored Dallas 70-45 in the fourth quarters of their consecutive games in Phoenix on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19, they wore down Dallas in clutch time.
After Doncic hit a jumper to tie the game at 99 with 3:10 remaining, he missed a free throw to complete the and-1. From there, Phoenix scored five consecutive points, forcing coach Jason Kidd to call a timeout with 1:49 left.
The Mavericks still had hope to regain the lead out of the break, but Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a 3-point look from the wing, and Paul answered with a long-range swish on the other end.
Another dagger.
Doncic suffered yet another physical ailment to watch in a season he’s already missed 15 games because of knee and ankle sprains — which kept him out of the first two meetings with the Suns — and COVID-19
He took a hard fall after driving into the paint late in the third quarter and went to the bench grabbing at the right and back side of his neck. A few moments after Doncic plopped into the last chair in the row, next to close friend Boban Marjanovic, director of player health and performance Casey Smith brought over a heat pack and wrapped it around Doncic’s right shoulder with an ace bandage.
But he didn’t miss any time in his usual rotations.
When the Mavericks last played on TNT, analyst Reggie Miller criticized Doncic’s weight and conditioning at multiple points in the broadcast. But this time, Doncic showed he had improved his stamina to the point he could put two dynamic performances less than a full day apart.
After dropping a season-high 41 points and tying a season-best with 14 rebounds against the Raptors on Wednesday, Doncic played unfazed against the only team in the league to have still not lost double-digit games.
He sought out opportunities to back down Paul and Booker in the post, and at one point, nutmegged Paul with an assist that belied the respect the two have voiced for one another in the past.
The Mavericks led for the majority of the game, and would’ve been satisfied entering halftime if the eight-foot hook shot Doncic netted with 2.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter was the final bucket of the period.
But Doncic often — and especially recently — defies expectations.
As the Suns tried to quickly inbound the ball after that basket, Doncic batted down the pass along the far sideline, gathered possession and let a 3-pointer fly from the right wing.
Buzzer.
Swish.
Euphoria.
Doncic giggled and gave a goofy smile as he slapped high fives with fans on his way back to the locker room, the Mavericks up 53-45.
But the jubilation petered out a couple hours later as the Mavericks’ four-game winning streak snapped.
