Phoenix Suns Defeat Dallas Mavericks 106-102

Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavs lost the first game of the year against the Phoenix Suns, 106-102.

Hosts had a tight lead throughout the entire match, creating a double-digit plus at the start of the final period, but they never managed to break the Mavs. On the other side, even though staying close to the rivals, Dallas couldn’t make a comeback, mostly due to the poor three-point shooting.

Mavericks made just 9 of their 37 downtown attempts, wasting too many attacks on shots from long distance. The Suns weren’t much better, 11-for-30, but they still had some balance in the attack. With 1:56 to go, Doncic hit both of his free throws to tie the match at 100-all, but Devin Booker responded with four points, Chris Paul with two, and the game saw Suns’ win.

“They don’t label ’em disjointed wins. We got a win against a really good team,” Phoenix’s head coach Monty Williams said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXTwLcLjglM

Chris Paul didn’t shine too much on his debut, scoring 8 points with five assists and four boards, shooting 3-for-9 from the field for only 8 points. Devin Booker was good, scoring 22 buckets, grabbing 5 boards. Both these guys had two steals each.

Mikal Bridges scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half, with four threes, seven boards, and solid pressure on Doncic at certain stretches. Bridges stated that his confidence comes from the locker room, knowing that there is a quality group of guys around him.

“It’s confidence,” he said. “We know what we can do on the other end offensively…. as long as we’re out there guarding and helping each other out, that’s going to be the key for our success: just keep defending as a team.”

DeAndre Ayton, with 13 and 8 boards, was doing much of the dirty work under the rin, while Cameron Payne and Langston Galloway added 11 points each. Sophomore Cameron Johnson had 15 points.

The Mavericks didn’t have anyone to help Doncic. The young superstar scored 32 points with 8 boards and five assists but missed all of his six shots from a distance.

“I’ve got to stop taking these very bad shots. It wasn’t just the last one, but it was a couple of them. It’s not good for me, it’s not good for the team, and I’ve got to change it,” Luka, who was 11-for-26 overall, stated after the game.

New season, new colorway @DevinBook pic.twitter.com/LpMiWn05GP

— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) December 24, 2020

Most of those shots came with others being cut off in the attack by the Suns’ solid defense. That is when the ball went back to him to solve one-on-one matchups with the clock nearing the end.

Three players had 12 points apiece, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Richardson, and Jalen Brinson. Dorian Finney-Smith had 11 with8 boards, and Maxi Kleber 10.

Excluding Doncic, the Mavericks’ starting lineup was 13-for-35 from the field, which is very bad. Without someone to help Luka, Dallas won’t reach too far this year. The fans are hoping to see Kristaps Porzingis pretty soon, but the Latvian is still not cleared for playing, and according to some sources, he won’t be until January 1.

However, even if he recovered until then, the question remains how long he would need to reach back in his previous shape, and will he stay healthy long enough. Porzingis is an injury-prone player, who doesn’t have any consistency over the recent few years.

Up next, the Mavs meet the Lakers in Dallas on Christmas Day, while the Suns travel to Sacramento on Saturday.