The Mavericks thought they had learned their lesson in mid-November, the first time they blew a fourth-quarter lead against the Suns.
Definitely after the second time, they figured, when the same thing happened again a couple of days later.
But by Thursday night in American Airlines Center, Dallas showed it still hadn’t solved how to slow the NBA’s best team in crunch time as they lost, again, 109-101, to finish 0-3 in the season series against Phoenix.
The Mavericks entered the fourth quarter leading 82-74, but the Suns outscored them 35-19 to close the game.
On a night when Luka Doncic played through pain and ignited several moments of raucous excitement as a much-needed boost in the second game of a back-to-back, the Mavericks didn’t translate his latest standout performance into what would’ve been their 11th win in 12 games.
“These dudes always have our number late in games,” Jalen Brunson said. “We got to be better.”
Doncic finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 38 minutes while shooting 9 of 23 from the field. Kristaps Porzingis tallied a double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds), and Brunson (19 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (11) reached double figures, too.
But the Suns’ All-Star guard duo of Devin Booker (28 points) and Chris Paul (20 points and 11 assists) proved too steady and poised for a Mavericks team playing its third game in four days.
The Suns outscored Dallas 70-45 in the fourth quarters of their consecutive games in Phoenix on Nov. 17 and 19, and they wore down Dallas in clutch time again.
After Doncic hit a jumper to tie the score at 99 with 3:10 remaining, he missed a free throw to complete the and-1. From there, Phoenix capped the game on a 10-2 run and finished with 31 points off the Mavericks’ season-high-tying 19 turnovers.
Coach Jason Kidd hoped a timeout with 1:49 remaining and Phoenix up 104-99 would help settle his team. But Hardaway missed a 3-pointer out of the break, Phoenix won a coach’s challenge to overturn a foul on Dorian Finney-Smith, and Paul answered with a long-range make on the other end.
Dagger.
“He just makes that team so much better with his experience and his IQ,” Porzingis said of Paul.
Attention returned to Doncic’s health in a season he has already missed 15 games because of knee and ankle sprains — which kept him out of the first two meetings with the Suns — and COVID-19.
He took a hard fall after driving into the paint late in the third quarter and went to the bench grabbing at the right side and back of his neck. Director of player health and performance Casey Smith brought over a heat pack and wrapped it around Doncic’s right shoulder with an Ace bandage.
He didn’t miss any time in his usual rotations, but after the game, Doncic couldn’t turn his head in either direction.
He endured a cervical strain in his neck during the playoffs in late May but said this instance felt “a little bit worse” because it’s closer to his spine. Before the Mavericks play again Sunday against Memphis, he’ll receive frequent massages and sessions in the steam room to ease pain and tension.
“If he’s hurt, he’s still going to compete,” Kidd said of Doncic playing more than seven minutes after the fall. “That’s just who he is. He’s a gladiator. He’s going to fight.”
When the Mavericks last played on TNT, analyst Reggie Miller criticized Doncic’s weight and conditioning at multiple points in the broadcast. But this time, Doncic showed he has improved his stamina to the point he could put two dynamic performances together less than a full day apart.
After dropping a season-high 41 points and tying a season-best with 14 rebounds against the Raptors on Wednesday, Doncic played unfazed against the only team in the league to have single-digit losses.
He sought out opportunities to back down Paul and Booker in the post, and at one point, nutmegged Paul with an assist.
The Mavericks led for the majority of the game and would’ve been satisfied entering halftime if the 8-foot hook shot Doncic netted with 2.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter was the final bucket of the period.
But Doncic often defies expectations.
Luka with the buzzer-beating three that (temporarily) broke Twitter 👀#MFFL pic.twitter.com/zqYzBk4pA1
— SportsDay Mavs (@dmn_mavericks) January 21, 2022
As the Suns tried to quickly inbound the ball after that basket, Doncic batted down the pass along the far sideline, gathered possession and let a 3-pointer fly from the right wing.
Buzzer.
Swish.
Euphoria.
Doncic giggled and gave a goofy smile as he slapped high-fives with fans on his way to the locker room, the Mavericks up 53-45.
But the jubilation had disappeared a couple of hours later.
So had the Mavericks’ four-game winning streak.
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