PHOENIX, AZ – Mavericks move to (9-5) after a tough 105-98 loss to the Suns (11-3) on Wednesday night. Dallas held their own without their leader Luka Doncic. Doncic was out with an ankle injury from Monday night’s game against the Nuggets.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led the way for the Mavs with 22 points, 2 rebounds, and four assists.
Devon Booker led the Suns to a victory with 24 points and 9 rebounds.
The Mavericks came out to start the game with an 8-0 run against the best team in their conference and without Doncic for their first time this season. It was short lived after Booker put his team on his back and Phoenix started hitting some of their deep shots. The first quarter was back and forth until Phoenix went on a 10-3 run to close out the quarter leaving the Mavs down 25-22 to start the second quarter.
The second quarter was the same back and forth play between the two teams. Porzingis hit a couple nice shots, he ended the night with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. Jalen Brunson also connected on a few, he has been having a great season for the Mavs this year. He finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Brunson and Porzingis helped the Mavs stay competitive with the Suns and went into the half up 46-45.
The Mavericks built a seven point lead in the third quarter due to some solid defense and consistent shooting from three. They shot 7-of-11 from beyond the arc in the third period. They ended the night 16-of-32 at 50 percent.
Dallas’s lead looked like they were taking control of the game but Phoenix came roaring back with one minute left in the period. Trey Burke buried a three-pointer to end the third quarter sending Dallas into the fourth with a 73-68 lead.
It was a battle in the fourth quarter between the two teams. Dallas held onto the lead until 5:30 left in the fourth quarter, the Suns started attacking the paint and it worked in their favor. Phoenix took a 87-86 lead in the. The teams traded leads for the next two minutes of the game before tying at 96. The remaining two minutes Dallas fell apart on defense, turnovers, and missed shots.
The Suns went on a 9-2 to close out the game and take the win over Dallas.
Dallas will stay in the Valley and have another opportunity to defeat the Suns tomorrow night at 9 P.M.
