Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Propel Mavs to Win Over Suns, Clinch Series Tiebreaker
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks (33-23) and Phoenix Suns (33-23) faced off in a highly anticipated matchup from the NBA All-Star break in front of a nationally televised audience on TNT. The Mavs achieved the 123-113 victory, with Luka Doncic totaling 41 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds to set the tone, with Kyrie Irving adding 29 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
“I think it answers the question that those two [Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving] coexist quite well," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "I think it just shows, again, our health, our energy, everything's in a positive way right now. We're getting great looks.
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Devin Booker had a strong outing for the Suns, providing 35 points, eight assists, and five rebounds. Kevin Durant contributed 23 points and five rebounds but had five turnovers and shot 9-23 from the floor, 2-8 from beyond the arc, and 3-5 on free throws. Phoenix received 10 or more points from Eric Gordon (16 points), Royce O'Neale (10 points).
After coming off the bench in his return from injury before the NBA All-Star break, Dereck Lively II was re-inserted into the starting lineup. P.J. Washington, Doncic, Irving, and Josh Green remained in the first group. Bradley Beal was ruled out for the Suns after being considered questionable due to left hamstring tightness.
The Suns held a clear advantage early on, going up 8-0, then continuing the trend to be up 13-5 to start the game. The Mavs continued to play from behind as they went on to trail by double figures (29-19) with 3:12 remaining in the opening period. Dallas struggled early on with Phoenix deploying a wing such as Kevin Durant on Lively while Jusuf Nurkic was deployed on Washington or another wing.
Irving heated up to close the first quarter, scoring eight consecutive points, including a sequence with back-to-back transition pull-up 3-pointers. Dallas ultimately created a 13-2 run during this stretch, but the Suns finished the opening period with a 33-32 advantage.
Durant led the Suns early in the second quarter, accepting the Mavs double teams and aggressive help rotations on his drives. The Suns were up 49-41 midway through the period, entering a timeout. Phoenix continued to control the momentum, gaining a double-figure advantage (54-43) after Eric Gordon hit a 3-pointer.
The Mavs closed the half by outscoring the Suns 17-9, only trailing 63-60 at the break. Doncic took matters into his own hands more, scoring 12 of Dallas' final 19 points of the second quarter. Doncic had already accounted for 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists before halftime, while Irving added 17 points and two assists.
“We tried to come out aggressive in the second half and get things going. Obviously, shots started to fall," Washington said. "We had to pick up the pace defensively, and we did a good job there.”
Doncic hit a pair of 3-pointers, then found Washington on a pick-and-pop to push the Mavs up 69-63 with 10:22 left in the third quarter. Dallas made the Suns pay for trying to guard Washington with Nurkic by putting him into screening actions with Doncic initiating. It was a reversal of how Dallas came up empty on a string of possessions in nearly identical circumstances at the beginning of the game.
The Mavs continued to pour it on the Suns from beyond the arc, with Doncic and Josh Green each converting from beyond the arc. Dallas was up 75-63 with 9:17 remaining in the third quarter. Doncic already scored his 30th point as a result.
The Suns rallied back, trailing just 81-80 at one point. Irving was aggressive as the Mavs' only superstar on the floor, looking for opportunities to attack. He helped sustain Dallas' advantage during this stretch, including an isolation possession that resulted in a foul call against his former teammate Durant, resulting in a successful trip to the free throw line. Dallas led 93-85 when Doncic checked back into the game.
Doncic was called for a technical foul late in the third quarter after a series of no-calls frustrated him. The Suns narrowed Dallas' lead to close out the period, but the Mavs still outscored Phoenix 36-28 in the period, leading 96-91 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, we just started locking into the game plan, and we stopped giving up a lot of easy baskets and started bringing over the help side a little bit more," Irving said.
A fast break led by Irving resulted in a flashy layup using a spin move, prompting the Suns to call a timeout. The Mavs went back up by double figures as a result, leading the Suns 104-93 with 9:35 remaining in regulation. Dallas continued leading by 10 or more points throughout the quarter.
The Suns went ultra-small to close out the game, with Durant playing small ball five. The Mavs initially had Daniel Gafford on the floor but swapped him out for Maxi Kleber to close it out coming out of a timeout. Dallas closed it out strong, with Doncic hitting a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to put the team up 15 points with about a minute and a half left to play. Dallas had clinched the victory at that point.
"We're deep," Kidd said. "This is the first time the Mavs have been deep in a long time."
The morale of the Mavs is very high amid a seven-game winning streak, including the franchise cornerstone, Doncic, praising the group as an "amazing" team. The Slovenian superstar is "really happy" with the personnel on the roster after adding Washington and Gafford.
"Amazing. We have an amazing team, and seven in a row—it hasn’t happened for a while," Doncic said. "I’m really happy with the guys we have on our team.”
Next up, the Mavs will begin a four-game road trip on Sunday, with the first stop being against the Indiana Pacers.
