PHOENIX — In both games the Dallas Mavericks played against the Phoenix Suns without Luka Doncic this week, they played the defending Western Conference champions tightly and carried a five-point lead into the fourth quarter each night.
But, the Mavericks also had a similar fourth quarter to Wednesday night’s, with the Suns blitzing them in the final frame to hand Dallas their second loss in a row, 112-104 Friday night in Phoenix.
The Suns followed up their 37-point fourth quarter on Wednesday with 33 points on Friday, and this time held Dallas to 20 points while doing it.
The key to the Suns’ comeback was opening the fourth with a 15-2 run, flipping Dallas’ five-point lead to an eight-point deficit in just three and a half minutes. They continued pushing the lead and at one point were up by 15 with two minutes left before the Mavericks’ reserves used intense pressure defense to go on a 9-2 run and cut the final score back down to eight.
The Mavericks were as active as they’ve been all season defensively, picking up a season-high 15 steals on the night. In total, they forced 18 Phoenix turnovers and converted those into 23 points. But, it was a colder shooting night from 3-point range for the Mavericks, shooting just 30% (12-for-40) — coming off of a 50% (16-for-32) night from deep on Wednesday.
Kristaps Porzingis led Dallas with a double-double, 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson had his own double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 18 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 12 points.
For Phoenix, Mikail Bridges made every shot he took in the first half (three 3-pointers, three 2-pointers and two free throws) to lead all scorers with 17 points. He made his only shot attempt of the second half to finish the night with 19 points. The Suns also got 19 points from Devin Booker, 18 points and 14 assists from Chris Paul and three bench players scoring in double figures (Javale McGee with 14, Cam Johnson with 13 and Cameron Payne with 10).
The first half was tightly contested, with 15 lead changes and neither team leading by more than eight at any point in the half — much like the game between these teams two nights ago, too. In the end, both games between these teams finished with 19 lead changes.
It seems possible that Doncic could play in the Mavericks’ next game on Sunday in Los Angeles against the Clippers, as he participated in shootaround on Friday and did a warmup routine pregame alongside fellow injured starter Maxi Kleber (left oblique strain). But, while coach Jason Kidd was hopeful about the possibility pregame, he said the team won’t know for sure until they practice on Saturday.
The Mavericks now have two against the Clippers, the team who eliminated them in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year. With games at 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday and 9:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, it’ll be a chance for the Mavericks to experience a postseason-like game of adjustments in the middle of the season — something Porzingis enjoys.
“I’d say it’s fun,” Porzingis said at shootaround Friday. “Otherwise, you might see one team in the beginning of the season and end of the season that are two completely different teams already. This one, going back-to-back, it gives you a little bit of a glimpse of what’s going to come in the playoffs.”
