First quarter:

Kevin Durant looked calm and took efficient shots, the Phoenix Suns defense allowed the mavericks to comeback after gaining a nice lead. Luka Doncic struggled in the first quarter. The Suns defense was able to limit Doncic on 1-7 shooting. The Mavericks defense struggled to guard Durant but double teamed Devin Booker on almost every possession. Doncic seemed to appear injured and headed to the locker room to get checked.

End Of First: Suns Lead after 1 against the Mavericks (31-26)


Second Quarter:

The Mavericks defense had no answer for KD, but the Mavericks offense was able to spread the floor and shoot the 3 ball effectively to keep themselves in the game.

Luka came back in the second quarter but seemed to be limping and running slowly but was able to score and assist effectively. Tim Hardaway was the biggest story on the mavericks team in the second as he caught fire from three point range and had 15 points off the bench. The Mavericks Bench provided many points in the first and second.

The Suns defense couldn’t stop the mavericks from shooting the three ball and couldn’t keep their lead they kept allowing the mavericks to fight back and either tie the game or take the lead. The Mavericks offense has kept the Suns defense on their toes by spreading the floor and knocking down their shots. Booker started to heat up this quarter and so did Durant offensively.

End of Second: Dallas heads into the Half leading 62-59 against the Suns


Halftime Stats:

Score: 62-59 Dallas leads

Suns:

Devin Booker: 17 Pts, 3 assist, 2 Rebounds

Kevin Durant: 16 Pts, 1 assist, 4 Rebounds

Mavericks: 

Tim Hardaway Jr: 18 Pts, 1 assist, 1 Rebound

Luka Doncic: 10 Points, 3 Assists, 5 Rebounds


Third quarter:

The Mavericks maintained the lead until the final minute of the quarter where they played a bit sloppy and kept fouling and turning the ball over. But the Mavericks were still playing very well, shooting the three point ball and spreading the ball. The bench yet again has been a big factor in this game. Doncic did heat up and played a lot better than he did in the first half.

The Suns trailed most of the game but were able to stay in the game and take the lead in the final minute of the third. The Suns put up 36 points in the third and Booker yet again caught fire and led the team to a very nice quarter. A very aggressive and hard fought third quarter from the Suns. The defense played a little bit better but still struggled to defend the perimeter.

End of Third: Suns have the lead 96-95 over the Mavericks.


Fourth Quarter:

Doncic was on the bench to start the fourth but Irving lead the team to begin the quarter and the Mavericks were able to grab the lead again and play excellent defense on Durant and Booker. The Mavericks defense were able to limit other options from the Suns such as Ayton and Chris Paul, but Durant and Booker were still able to score here and there to stay in the game. Doncic sat most of the fourth until the 5:41 minute mark when he subbed in during crunch time.  The Mavericks defense towards the end started to fall apart and allow easy buckets for the Suns. The Mavericks could not stop the pick & roll play and it was easy buckets for the Suns. Doncic missed the game tying bucket to possibly force an overtime game.

The Suns kept turning the ball over in the fourth and committing fouls, Paul was visually frustrated this quarter when the Suns kept turning the ball over and weren’t able to hit their shots. The Suns defense has not been able to stop the three point shot and are late on almost every rotation. During the 6-minute mark the Suns were able to make it a close game and started passing the ball and scoring effectively. The Suns offensively were able to keep themselves in the game while Chris Paul finally started to ease into the game and play the Point Guard role well, he was able to spread the floor and make very crucial shots. Durant and Booker took over in crunch time and put the team on their back to put them in a winning position. Durant put the game on ice with a go ahead bucket and two free throws.

End Of Fourth: Suns Win 130-126 over the Mavericks


Final Score: 130-126

Final Summary: The Suns take down the Mavericks 130-126 in a close game. A very well fought game between the Suns and Mavericks which led to an amazing game, this game felt like a NBA playoff game 7 where all the Stars scored over 30+ points and in the final two minutes they were going back and forth exchanging points.


Leading Scorers On The Game: 

Suns: 

Devin Booker: 36 Points, 10 assists, 6 Rebounds

Kevin Durant: 37 Points, 3 Assists, 7 Rebounds

Chris Paul: 11 Points, 7 assists, 6 Rebounds

Mavericks:

Luka Doncic: 34 Points, 4 assists, 9 Rebounds

Kyrie Irving: 30 Points, 7 assists, 4 Rebounds

Tim Hardaway Jr: 21 points, 1 assist, 1 Rebound.

Game-Day Highlights