Phoenix’s T.J. Warren had a huge late strip of Harrison Barnes with just over a minute remaining in the final frame and the Sun’s Isaiah Canaan made a driving layup to help Phoenix eke out a 97-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Playing without rookie starting point guard Dennis Smith Jr. for the sixth straight games, the Mavericks worked to build a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Phoenix, however, playing without Devin Booker, erupted in the second half.
One positive note for the Mavericks came in the form of Dirk Nowitzki surpassing Bryant for 13th place on the all-time made three-pointers list by drilling his 1,828th bomb. He added another three late in the fourth as Dallas tried to mount a final comeback, but ultimately fell short.
Devin Harris hit a three from the corner to bring Dallas to within 93-91 and then the Mavericks stole Dragan Bender’s inbounds pass which allowed for Wes Matthews to try to give Dallas the lead, but the shot fell short. T.J. Warren was then intentionally fouled and went 1-for-2 from the line, setting up the Mavericks for a final chance to tie the game.
Harris missed on a drive on the ensuing possession and the Suns closed it out from the line.
The Mavericks have had problems at home against other struggling teams this season, entering Monday’s contest with losses already to the Bulls, Hawks and D’Angelo Russell/Jeremy Lin-less Brooklyn Nets.
Despite the loss, Barnes (26 points, two boards and three assists) had another solid outing and Yogi Ferrell (13 points, six boards and five assists) continued his recent stretch of good play.
It took a late flurry for Dallas to snag a 50-49 halftime lead, but the Mavericks opened things up in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 71-59 on a Barnes’ 3. Phoenix responded with a 20-8 run to tie the game on an Isaiah Canaan three-pointer, forcing a timeout from coach Rick Carlisle with 7:29 left.
The Suns took the lead on two free throws by Alex Len and stretched the lead to four with a layup by T.J. Warren before J.J. Barea found Maxi Kleber for an alley-oop to break the Mavericks’ lengthy scoring drought. At one point during Phoenix’s run, Dallas missed 13 of 14 shots.
Recent Phoenix signee Mike James then hit a corner three and Dragan Bender added another bomb to help the Suns increase their lead to 89-81.
Dallas takes on Detroit at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at home. Smith is listed as a “possible” starter for that game.
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