Jusuf Nurkic sank a free throw with just b0.8 seconds remaining in the game and the Phoenix Suns eked out a slim 114-113 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night before an American Airlines Center sellout crowd of 20,277.
Royce O’Neale missed a floater in the lane with the score tied at 113, and Nurkic grabbed the offensive rebound and was subsequently fouled by Daniel Gafford, who fouled out on the play. The referees went to the replay monitor to see if the foul by Gafford occurred before or after time expired, then confirmed that it happened with 0.8 seconds left.
Nurkic misfired on the first free throw attempt, but buried the second one to give the Suns the lead. The Mavs called timeout, but a long desperation three-pointer by Luka Dončić at the buzzer missed its mark.
The loss left the Mavs with a 5-4 record, including a disappointing 2-3 worksheet which wrapped up this five-game home stand. Phoenix improved to 8-1 and remained the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Starting with Sunday’s game in Denver, the Mavs will now embark on a three-game road trip that also includes Tuesday ‘s game at the Golden State Warriors and Thursday’s game in Utah before Dallas returns home to host the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 16.
Dončić led the Mavs with 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Kyrie Irving finished with 29 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, and Naji Marshall collected 18 points and five rebounds. In addition, Gafford finished with 15 points and seven boards, and Klay Thompson had 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
Kevin Durant paced the Suns with 26 points, O’Neale scored 18 points and was 4-of-4 from three-point land, and Tyus Jones finished with 17 points and five assists. Also for Phoenix, Bradley Beal tallied 15 points, Nurkic added 15 points and 10 boards, and Devin Bokker wound up with 13 points, six rebounds and 12 assists.
The game see-sawed back-n-fourth over the last five-plus minutes. Thompson’s three-pointer put the Mavs up, 100-98, but Beal tied it at 100-all with a jump shot.
Irving scored over Durant to out the Mavs ahead, 102-100, only to see Durant nail a three-pointer for a103-102 lead for the Suns. Irving countered with a two-pointer and a three-pointer for a 107-103 Dallas lead with 3:35 left.
However, Durant buried another three-pointer, but a pair of free throws from Gafford nudged the Mavs out front, 109-106, with 2:57 to go. O’Neale knotted the game at 109 apiece with a triple, and a dunk by Gafford via a bounce pass from Thompson gave the Mavs a 111-109 lead with 2:17 remaining.
Nurkic, though, got loose inside and tied the game at 111-111 with 58.3 seconds left. And following a missed three-pointer by Durant, Nurkic snatched the offensive rebound and dunked it to put the Suns ahead, 113-111, with 31.4 seconds to go.
But the Mavs knotted the score at 113 apiece when Gafford connected on a lob dunk pass from Doncic at the 23.5 second mark. Then came the dramatic ending which resulted in the Mavs losing for the second time in three games, and also losing to the Suns for the second time this season.
Durant joined the Suns on Feb. 9, 2023 in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, and Beal joined the Suns on June 24, 2023 in a trade with the Washington Wizards. In their unison with Booker, the road was initially rocky as Phoenix got swept by Minnesota in the first-round of last season’s playoffs.
But the Suns entered Friday’s contest tied with Golden State and Oklahoma City for the second-best record in the entire NBA at 7-1. Some of that Suns swag was on display against the Mavs when Phoenix jumped out to a 15-11 lead thanks to four turnovers by the Mavs and a pair of three-pointers by Nurkic and one by Booker.
“I think it just takes time,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said, referring to the unison between Durant, Booker and Beal. “As much as we want it to happen, there’s a human chemistry, there’s a human element to understanding the roles in trying to not step on anybody’s toes.
“So, when you look at what they’re doing, it just takes time. You can see that time has paid off. When they’re healthy they’re one of the best teams in the league.”
Dallas only trailed 23-22 until Phoenix erupted on a brisk 10-0 run to go up 33-22 with 1:13 let in the first quarter. The run was spurred by three-pointers each from Durant and O’Neale, a basket by Jones and a dunk from Mason Plumlee.
The Suns went on to take a 36-26 lead after the first quarter – with the help of 13-of-21 shooting from the field, including 8-of-13 baskets on three-point attempts. And that slow start – again – wound up costing the Mavs in the end.
“They’re playing a little bit faster,” Kidd said. “They put a lot of pressure on the defense (and) they can shoot the three.”
As far as Durant making clutch buckets, Kidd said: “That’s who he is. He’s one of the best in the world. When you have a closer like that who you can count on in close games, he’s going to deliver.”
A bucket by Beal at the outside of the second quarter padded the Phoenix lead to 40-26 before the
Mavs whittled the deficit to 46-37. But the Suns were off and running again until they built their lead to 63-50 at the game’s midway point.
“These guys are a great team,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said of the Mavs. “They’re going to make things difficult for us on both ends of the court.
“The more we keep learning, the more we keep growing, the more we keep getting better and these teams in these games are kind of those opportunities. Really every night is, but clearly a ton of respect for the Mavs and the team they have and how hard they can make it for you on both ends.”
Dončić scored 16 points during the 19 minutes he played in the first half, as he kept the Mavs within shouting distance of the Suns.
“He’s like a great quarterback,” Budenholzer said. “One coverage is not going to last very long, probably. He tests you. He puts you in a lot of tough spots.
“What we do on him is maybe not that much different than our base coverage. Obviously, he’s unique and special with what he can do, but it’s always changing, and I think you don’t ever feel like it’s going to stay the same on any great player.”
In the end, the Mavs couldn’t keep Nurkic off the offensive glass, and his free throw wound up being the game-winner.
X: @DwainPrice
