Everything has gone right lately for the Phoenix Suns, who are hunting their seventh straight win and their eighth in their first nine games as they travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Friday.
Phoenix overcame a season-high 40 points from Dallas’ Luka Doncic in a 114-102 home win on Oct. 26, the first victory of its current surge.
The Suns extended their win streak to six games on Wednesday with a 115-112 victory over visiting Miami, aided in large part by a 32-point, eight-rebound outing by Kevin Durant.
Devin Booker added 22 points and Jusuf Nurkic paired 20 points with 18 rebounds to help Phoenix hang on late. It was another impressive performance down the stretch for a Suns team that has stepped up in crunch time this season.
“We don’t let it rattle us,” Durant said. “Guys aren’t panicking on the bench, coaches aren’t getting up screaming or upset. I think we just try to focus on how to be good the next possession and move from there. Coach called (a couple of) timeouts when they made some runs and we scored out of those timeouts and also got a stop. That’s usually key.”
Durant’s 27.8 scoring average leads the team and is good for seventh in the NBA entering Thursday’s action. Booker trails slightly behind him at 24.4 points per game.
The Mavericks are aiming to win consecutive games for just the second time this season after beating the Bulls 119-99 Wednesday night in Dallas. Doncic led the way with 27 points and 13 assists, while Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford each added 17 points.
Doncic is averaging 28.6 points per game this season, down from his league-leading 33.9 points a year ago. The Mavericks have received a boost from newly acquired Klay Thompson, who’s averaging 14.5 points per game on 39.1 percent shooting from 3-point range as Dallas continues to integrate him into the offense.
The Mavericks had 33 assists on 45 field goals in Wednesday’s win over the Bulls, a noticeable shift from the isolation-heavy style the team is known for.
“I think we have two of the best iso players (Doncic and Irving) in the league, in the world, and so it’s easy to lean in and go to that right off the bat,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “But to get other guys involved, I thought the group made a conscious effort for Klay to touch the ball.
“We thought the group did a great job, Klay even turned down some shots early. But the ball movement where multiple guys touched the ball, it’s hard to guard in this league and I thought the guys really made a conscious effort of doing that.”
Mavericks center Dereck Lively will miss his third straight game due to a shoulder injury. Phoenix standout rookie Ryan Dunn’s status is in question after the forward sprained his left ankle during Wednesday’s win over Miami.
Durant had 31 points to lead the Suns in their first meeting with Dallas this season, while Booker added 21 points. Nurkic contributed 18 points and 14 boards.
