PHOENIX — The Mavericks’ season-opening game against the Suns on Wednesday night looked so much like the dominating, confounding, Western Conference finals-clinching Game 7 spectacle Dallas unleashed against the Suns in this same building five months earlier.
Until it didn’t.
The Mavericks lost 107-105 to the Suns in Footprint Center in deflating fashion.
After leading by 22 points in the second quarter, the Mavericks committed as many turnovers (six) as they made baskets in the third quarter and allowed the Suns to extend their regular-season clutch time dominance late in the fourth quarter.
The second-half slide wasted a strong Year 5 debut from Doncic, who finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes. Same with new trade addition Christian Wood, who tallied 25 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes as the sixth-man center who provided significant two-man pop in his minutes with Doncic.
Coach Jason Kidd emphasized before the game that “we can’t just pick up where we left off” in the Western Conference finals or overreact to the first of 82 regular-season results.
But that likely won’t ease the sting of the 20-point blown lead and final result for swaths of Mavericks fans so eager for another beatdown at the site of the Mavericks’ best a season ago.
The unlikely source of agony: a couple Suns reserves.
After Phoenix outscored the Mavericks 31-19 in the third quarter, the Suns weathered 13 straight points from Wood early in the fourth and took their first lead since the first quarter (101-100) on back-up point guard Cam Payne’s jumper with 3:10 remaining.
Then reserve forward Damion Lee hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and All-Star guard Devin Booker added a free throw to extend the advantage to five points.
Little doubt Doncic had an answer, as he hit a pair of free throws and completed a physical three-point play to tie the game at 105 with 32.8 seconds remaining.
But a couple of Mavericks defensive switches on Phoenix’s last possession didn’t keep Lee from connecting on another jumper for the game-winning points with 9.7 seconds remaining.
Doncic took the final possession himself, hustling to his left wing sweetspot to unleash a long 3-pointer a couple ticks before the final buzzer.
But Doncic’s attempt clanged off the front of the rim.
He lifted his arms, questioning the refs.
And perhaps wondering how the Mavericks’ first-half thrill evaporated so quickly.
_____
