Dirk Nowitzki stars as Dallas Mavericks hold off Phoenix Suns 98 – 89: NBA Update
The Dallas Mavericks produced a fine display of basketball to garner a deserved victory over the Phoenix Suns. The game at the American Airlines Center was a good contest but the Mavs seemed to have just a little more in their
arsenal and walked away with a 98 – 89 win.
Dallas were led once again by German giant Dirk Nowitzki. The star forward scored 20 points, grabbed 6 boards and dished out 7 assists. He was ably assisted by bench players John Terry and Lamar Odom, who scored 18 and 15 points
respectively.
Terry remarked after the game that depth was a big part of Mavericks’ strength and he was happy to come off the bench and effect games for his franchise.
"The second unit's goal is to come in and impact the game on both ends of the floor. It's not good enough to just go out and play. We want to dominate every time we step on the floor. When you've got guys like Lamar Odom, Vince
Carter and myself, these are All-Star potential guys and anybody we face, we should have the upper hand."
Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry concurred, saying that Dallas’ bench made them a very difficult opposition to tackle.
"Their bench played well. That's where the separation came. Their second unit did an outstanding job. That's where the lead came from and it was hard for us to overcome."
Marcin Gortat had a huge game for the Suns, notching up 22 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double effort. Steve Nash was brilliant for his 15 points and 12 assists while veteran forward Grant Hill scored 14.
The first quarter was as even as it could get, with both sides answering each other whenever the call came. The scores remained very close and neither team was able to put a run together, resulting in a 25 – 25 score line heading
into the second period.
The Mavericks got a head start there with a 6 – 2 streak at the beginning and another 6 – 2 burst around the 8th minute mark. They used this quarter to exploit the weakness of Phoenix’s second unit and by the time it
ended they had pulled away at 49 – 41.
After the interval Phoenix looked sharper, especially on offence, but still failed to haul in the Mavericks. Dallas had one particularly effective burst, 9 – 2, which started in the 4th minute and had them entrenched
in a double digit lead soon after. When the quarter ended with a buzzer beater from downtown by Jason Terry, the writing was already on the wall.
Trailing 77 – 66 going into the final period, Phoenix were always fighting a losing battle and a 10 – 0 blitz early in segment virtually ended their hopes of a comeback. From there on it was a cruise for the home team who finished
the game off at 98 – 89.
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