Delonte West and Vince Carter deliver as Dallas Mavericks rout Phoenix Suns 122-99 - NBA Recap
Phoenix Suns minus Steve Nash is a pretty average team.
They were reminded of this on Monday night by the reigning champions Dallas Mavericks as the Mavs, with their offense in full flow, took advantage of Nash’s absence - who is currently nursing a bruised thigh - and bulldozed the Suns 122-99.
"We caught a break with Nash not playing," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "I don't think you can overlook that as a big factor in the game. We played and I thought our effort was even and consistent. We were able to keep fresh guys on the floor. We moved the ball well and made shots and our defense was good enough to win."
The Mavs were unstoppable tonight and apart from the first 16 minutes of the game, in which the game was in balance, with Dallas only ahead by 3 points 40-37, they never gave any respite to the Suns.
Then with the game posied at 49-43, a 17-5 spurt, comprising of 5 three pointers in the latter part of the second frame, put the Mavs in a commanding position in the first half, which ended at 66-48.
Tthe Suns had no answers to the onslaught by the Mavs in the third frame and they were made to look as mere spectators, while the Mavs lead hovered around 20 - to - 25 points throughout the quarter. The game had already finished for Suns by the end of the third as lead themounted to 26 points, and the way they were playing, a comeback in the deciding frame looked completely out of question.
That was indeed the case and just before the final buzzer, Sebastian Telfair netted one from the long range, but it was useless as it could not help the team in avoiding a humiliating loss.
Reserve Delonte West led the Mavs with a game high 25 points on 9-for-12 from the floor and 6 assists while Vince Carter pounded 21 on a phenomenal 5-for-7 from downtown. Shawn Marion had 20 points whereas Jason Terry also chipped in with 11 points.
The Mavs outclassed the Suns in the shooting department (55.2%-43.8%) from the floor and held the upper hands in the boards, outrebounding them 44-33.
Marcin Gortat paced the Suns with a double-double, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jared Dudley bundled 15 points while Telfair netted 13 points in his 23:09 minutes stint.
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