Phoenix Suns solve Dallas Mavericks after 8 attempts; Jared Dudley leads the way – NBA Recap
After eight consecutive losses, the Phoenix Suns finally managed to figure the Dallas Mavericks riddle on Thursday night at the US Airways Center, Phoenix.
Led by 18 points and eight rebounds from Jared Dudley and a 16-12 points-rebounds double-double from Marcin Gortat, the Suns evaporated a 12 point deficit late in the third quarter and then kept the Mavs at bay down the stretch
to carve out a 96-94 win, their sixth in the last eight days and fourth consecutive at home.
The loss, seventh in the last 10 for the reigning NBA champions, moved them into the sixth position in the Western conference and one more loss can take them to the 7th seed.
The Mavs however did muster a courageous response at the death considering that they were on the back end of a back-to-back-to-back stretch. They were paced by 18 point contributions from Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter. Lamar Odom
showed signs of his old self, dropping 15 points on 6-of-10 in just 22:16.
Up against his old contemporary Steve Nash, who finished the night with 11 points and 11 dimes, Jason Kidd knocked down 3-of-5 from distance on his way to 12 points, while Shawn Marion also had 12.
The Suns were on fire at the start, racing to a 7-0 run, enroute to a 12-4 lead in a little over five minutes. Back came the Mavs though and with a 9-1 spurt tied the game at 13. Shannon Brown and Nash combined for 4 points in
the next minute, but Dallas stepped up the pressure to finish the first quarter at 24-23.
Mavericks pulled the trigger in the second quarter and on a Carter turnaround jumper, they carved out a 47-38 lead. Phoenix rallied with four points in a row, but that was followed by consecutive three pointers from Cater and Kidd
taking the lead into double figures.
The teams went into the locker rooms with Dallas holding on to a 44-53 lead and a Carter fade away soon made it an 11 point game. The Suns closed within 6 inside the next two minutes, but the Mavs just kept punching back and an
Odom three made it 72-60, with 4:43 to go in the third.
The Mavs seemed to be cruising at that point, but all of that changed in a hurry as the hosts erupted with a 14-2 run to tie the game at 74. Two Nowitzki free throws later, the Suns again reeled off a 16-4 spurt, spanning the last
1:09 of the third and the first 5:26 of the 4th, to take a 91-80 lead.
Fatigued and looking down the barrel, the Mavs mustered strength and keyed by Nowitzki and Marion, they answered back with a 14-5 burst to make it 94-96; 25 seconds still left in the game. Dirk had 6 points in the run including
the last two shots. He then fouled Grant Hill, who missed both the free throws, giving the Mavs a chance to win it.
Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks coach, took a timeout and inserted Rodrigue Beaubois instead of Ian Mahinmi when play returned. The move back fired though as the Frenchman missed two crucial jumpers and the Suns held on.
Tags: