Kevin Durant and Nurkic led the Suns to their seventh straight win over the Mavericks

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

Kevin Durant’s 26 points and Jusuf Nurkic’s free throw with 0.8 seconds left led the Phoenix Suns (8-1) to a 114-113 victory over the Dallas Mavericks (5-4) on Friday.

The win marks the Suns’ seventh straight, their best start since 2009 and their second straight win over the Mavericks since their home win on Oct. 26.

All Suns starters and backup forward Royce O’Neale (18 points) scored in double figures. The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic had a game-high 30 and Kyrie Irving poured in 29.

Nurkic (15 points, game-high 10 boards) rebounded a floater off O’Neale’s pass, then attempted a putback layup but was fouled at the end of regulation. The play was reviewed to determine whether Nurkic had taken the shot before the buzzer, and the officials decided to put 0.8 seconds back on the clock.

Nurkic made one of the two free throws. Then Doncic missed the final shot from deep that sealed the Suns’ victory.

The Suns, now at the top of the NBA Western Conference, play their next home game against the Sacramento Kings (5-3) on Sunday at 6 p.m.

The Mavericks gain momentum, the Suns respond at the end of the 3rd quarter

Phoenix is ahead 87-83 in the fourth round.

Durant scored 11 of his 20 points for Phoenix in the third period, and the Mavericks’ Doncic had a game-high 26.

After the Suns took a 10 lead at 10:28, the Mavericks eventually improved the score to 73-71, led by Doncic, who scored 10 points in that run. Durant and the Suns responded immediately with their 8-0 run, regaining the lead just after the 4-minute mark, which they held for the remainder of the period.

Booker and Suns maintain their big lead in the 2nd quarter

The Suns have a commanding 63-50 lead over the Mavericks at halftime.

Booker and backup swingman Royce O’Neale are tied for the team with 11 points, and starting point guard Tyus Jones has 10 points and four assists. Booker also has a team-best eight assists.

Doncic scored a game-high 16 points for the Mavericks and had an impressive cross-court bounce pass to Klay Thompson for an and-one layup.

The Suns started the second period with a bang from Josh Okogie’s driving slam against big man Daniel Gafford. Okogie and O’Neale are part of their productive bench, outscoring the Mavericks’ reserves 21-3.

Suns bomb from 3 in 1st quarter

Phoenix ended the first quarter with a 13-4 run, fueled by their hot 3-pointers, to give Dallas a 36-26 lead.

The Suns hit 8 of 13 from deep and shot an outstanding 61.9% overall, led by point guard Tyus Jones (eight points), Kevin Durant (seven points), Jusuf Nurkic (six points, two three-pointers) and Devin Booker ( five points, four assists).

Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic led Dallas with eight and seven points, respectively.

The Suns gained their largest lead of 12 in the final minute of the first.

Starting lineups

Booker (illness) has been updated to available. The Suns go with their usual starters, including Booker, Tyus Jones, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic.

The Mavericks will open with Doncic, Irving, Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Daniel Gafford.

Booker for Suns questionable

Booker (illness) is listed as questionable. Rookie forward Ryan Dunn (left ankle sprain) is questionable for Phoenix. Beal (right elbow sprain) is listed as likely to be eligible to play.

Dallas center Dereck Lively II (shoulder), power forwards Maxi Kleber (thigh) and PJ Washington (knee) and Dante Exum (wrist surgery) are out.

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