The Dallas Mavericks have suffered their first defeat of the season. Luka Doncic scored 40 points, but it was not enough against the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns, who lost in Los Angeles the day before, led almost the entire game, but were never able to pull away completely. At the start of the third quarter, the Mavericks were within a point after Phoenix led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
Doncic kept Dallas in the game with 40 points (12/25 FG, 5/13 three pointers, 11/12 FT), but otherwise only Kyrie Irving (22, 9/22) and Klay Thompson (19, 7/16), who again scored five three pointers, managed double digits. However, the Mavs only managed to score under 40 percent from the field, which was not enough despite only conceding eight turnovers.
Dallas fouled far too often, with the Suns taking 37 shots from the free-throw line, 12 of which were taken by Devin Booker (21). On the other hand, Kevin Durant (31, 10/21) was once again responsible for the important baskets, while Jusuf Nurkic (18, 14 rebounds) made good use of his size in offense on several occasions. Coming off the bench, Royce O’Neale (7) earned plus points with numerous hustle plays.
Mavericks’ role players disappoint
Phoenix missed two important rotation players in Bradley Beal (elbow) and Grayson Allen (private reasons), but the hosts still impressed as a collective unit. Off the Big Three, the rest of the Mavs only shot 9/30 from the field. Maxi Kleber (2, 2 assists) at least made one of his two attempts in just under 16 minutes.
The Mavs now have six of their next nine games at home, with a short trip to Minnesota in between. On Monday night, they will be guests in Big D in Utah. On the same day, Phoenix will host the Lakers in an early rematch.
