Phoenix Suns outlast Dallas Mavericks in Friday Night Thriller

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

The Phoenix Suns, in true fashion, survived a big second-half surge against the Dallas Mavericks to ultimately emerge victorious 114-113 on Friday night.

The Suns now improve their season record to 8-1 and have won their last seven games, all of which appear to have come down to the wire.

Devin Booker was added to the injured list late after being questionable due to illness, although he played and registered his first double-double of the season. Every Suns starter reached double figures.

Short summary

The Suns took a 36-26 lead after the first quarter thanks to eight three-pointers from Phoenix, including two from center Jusuf Nurkic. Surprisingly, Tyus Jones led all scorers with eight points in the first frame.

Phoenix extended its lead to 14 early in the second quarter and solidified a double-digit lead over the course of the second quarter, ultimately heading into the locker room at 63-50. The Suns shot a strong 53.5% from the field. Luka Doncic scored a game-high 16 points in 24 minutes of play.

The same was true for the Suns in the third quarter, whose lead dwindled thanks to a 15-2 start from Dallas and the score was 65-65, although it was Phoenix that held an 87-83 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Mavericks battled back to take a six-point lead midway through the fourth before the Suns regained a 98-97 lead. The two teams exchanged a basket shot before Nurkic equalized the score to 111:111 with one minute left.

After a Kyrie Irving turnover on the other side, Durant missed a three-pointer before Nurkic grabbed a rebound (with help from Bradley Beal) and sank it for a two-point lead with 30 seconds left.

After a simple alley-oop on the other end that tied the game, the Suns saw Nurkic hit the free throw line with 0.8 seconds left when he was fouled on a put-back attempt.

After missing the first, Nurkic made the second, giving the Suns a one-point lead. Doncic couldn’t hit a near-impossible shot in such a short amount of time after a timeout, and Phoenix walked away with the win.