Suns Show Resilience in Victory Over Mavericks

The Suns now own a 7-game win streak after another gutsy victory

Nov 8, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket as Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) defends during the fourth quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns moved to 8-1 on the season after another clutch time victory over the Dallas Mavericks tonight.

The Suns battled through inefficient scoring nights from Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who ended up contributing in other ways such as playmaking.

Royce O'Neale could barely miss - scoring 18 points while once again playing lockdown defense that has become customary of the second-year Sun this season and earning a team-best +14 in his 29 minutes on the floor. Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic, and Tyus Jones all made timely baskets from all three levels - but all three made their mark from behind the arc without question.

Most of all, the cohesion and collective resilliency of this team was on full display. Josh Okogie - making his first appearance of the season in place of Ryan Dunn - even managed to make an obvious impact.

The offense continues to flow better with consistent motion, an emphasis on borderline excessive ball movement not unlike Gregg Popovich coached squads, and obvious intention/strategy. That was especially true tonight - as the Suns scored 115 against the current number 3 defense in the league with 2 of the 3 best players on the team struggling.

They weathered the storm of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic - Irving particularly took over late in the game with a flurry of baskets. That was perhaps the most impressive part after losing Dunn for the game as previously mentioned. It continues to be a testament to the toughness of the roster 1-14.

This team is connected. This team is deep. This team fights on every possession. This team has multiple pieces that are equipped to take over any given game. This is a team that could continue to expand what is the second-longest win streak in the league substantially longer.

The Suns will look to extend the win streak on Sunday night when they welcome the Sacramento Kings to town as Mike Budenholzer continues to build a coach of the year case and Durant continues to creep into most valuable player discussions.