Mavericks struggle to find offensive support outside of Big 3, fall to Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX — It didn’t take long for the Mavericks to face their first real challenge with their brand-new trio of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.

Saturday’s road opener in the desert was an opportunity to pit their explosive offensive to the test against another formidable “Big Three” in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. However, Dallas couldn’t bottle up the same offensive rhythm it displayed in its home opener against San Antonio. Nor could it limit Durant and the rest of the Suns, leading to a 114-102 loss at Footprint Center.

Phoenix was on the second night of a back-to-back after blowing a 22-point lead in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, and they were also shorthanded without Beal (right elbow soreness). Still, Durant shouldered the load with several timely scores against the Mavericks’ defense.

The Mavericks trailed by nine with a little over seven minutes remaining, but Durant scored five consecutive points to crush any chances of a Dallas comeback. The superstar forward drained a pull-up 3 over Thompson and P.J. Washington. Durant took a skip back on defense to celebrate the shot, which helped him eclipse 29,000 career points. He’s the eighth player in NBA history to reach the milestone. One play later, Durant received the ball on a fast break and converted a layup as he was fouled by Irving.

Durant led the Suns with 31, which came second to Doncic’s game-high 40 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The last time Doncic paid a visit to Phoenix resulted in a 50-point masterpiece, which was without Irving (heel). This time around, he had more support from his fellow co-stars as Irving and Thompson finished with 22 and 19, respectively.

“I thought we had a couple of great shots,” Doncic said after the game. “There were a lot of short shots. I thought we had some great looks that we’ll probably knock down some other time. They were physical with us. They played great defense. They scored over 100 points, so they were aggressive.”

However, Dallas struggled on the offensive end (37-of-93) and it didn’t receive any help from its bench. The Mavericks’ bench were only able to muster nine points on Saturday. Dereck Lively scored five points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Naji Marshall and Maxi Kleber both finished with two points. Kleber left the game in the fourth quarter due to a right hamstring injury and did not return.

Durant was helped by Booker’s 21 points and five assists. It was expected that Durant and Booker would be successful given their track records as elite scorers, but the Mavericks also allowed Jusuf Nurkic to record a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds.

“He was just physical,” Doncic said. “He was attacking the basket and using his body. He did that pretty well today.”

What should’ve been a fluid game of elite shot-making quickly turned into a stagnant game of offense, limited by whistles. The Mavericks and Suns combined for 45 personal fouls. Dallas committed 28 of those fouls, with Irving, Thompson and Washington all receiving four each.

The Mavericks and Suns appear to have a similar build when it comes to how their “Big Threes” were constructed. Both have established stars who were drafted by their respective franchises in Doncic and Booker. They also traded for supplementary stars to complement their franchise centerpieces (Irving and Thompson; Durant and Beal).

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd discussed the similarities between the two teams in his pregame press conference.

“It’s way too early in the marathon but there is a comparison,” Kidd said. “There’s three stars that both teams have and very good stars, at that. You talk about Durant and Beal and Book, they can put up points in a hurry. They put a lot of pressure on the defense.”

Durant tested Dallas’ defense consistently through the night and the Mavericks’ trio did its best, but couldn’t find the supplementary support to prevail.

Dallas will need a more balanced effort in their upcoming back-to-back set of games next week against Utah and Minnesota.

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