The Mavericks got a harsh reminder from the Phoenix Suns Thursday night that life at the top – or even near the top – is no picnic.
But the Mavericks better get used to it. And they are starting to look like it’s a place they intend on hanging around – in spite of Thursday’s result.
The Mavericks had won four in a row and 10 of their previous 11, but they ran into a Phoenix team that is burning just a little hotter right now. The Suns showed their grit in the final possessions to grind out a 109-101 victory at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks had won four in a row, but the Suns ran their win streak to five – all on the road – as they got 28 points from Devin Booker and 20 points and 11 assists from Chris Paul.
The Mavericks, who had played a stressful game Wednesday in beating Toronto, had problems down the stretch. And Paul made sure nobody at AAC forgets that he is one of the game’s best closers. His 3-pointer with 25.7 seconds left was the dagger that put the Suns up 107-99.
And yet, the Mavericks felt like they played the 35-9 Suns toe-to-toe and gave themselves a chance to win – another sign of growth in a season when the Mavericks continue to chart their improvement like a kid with a ruler marking lines on the closet door.
“They’re No. 1, No. 2 in the league,” said Kristaps Porzingis. “They’re a good team. I feel like we’re right there, especially the way we’re playing lately.”
And that is another boost to their confidence that has been swelling since Christmas.
“Definitely, it’s like a swag that you have,” said Porzingis, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds. “We have the same guys, but if you start building something, the internal confidence keeps growing. And you develop a little more sauce. And we’re on our way to that. We have moments like that. In the bubble, we felt that way, kind of.
“And now I feel like we’re building toward that again. And that’s pretty cool, being part of a winning team and I feel like that’s where we’re headed now. This was a loss, but there’s definitely things we can take from this that are positive.”
The Mavericks had that swagger when they were up 95-87 with seven minutes to play. They were outscored 22-6 the rest of the way.
They were still tied at 99 after Luka Dončić scored the last of his 28 points. But the Suns finished it off 10-2.
“They know when to go, which is a good lesson for us,” coach Jason Kidd said. “There’s no panic. They got a veteran team and a great leader. Chris knows when to go.”
The Mavericks had 19 turnovers, partly out of carelessness and partly because the Suns kept pressuring them, particularly down the stretch when fatigue may have been a factor.
That’s something Kidd hopes his team will remember.
“This is a good time to use the example – this is April, May, June. You’re tired, you got to take care of the ball and this is a good practice for us, to understand what it is to be tired and when you’re tired, you got to make shots and we got to connect the dots,” Kidd said. “And on the other side, we got to defend. So this is something that can help us as we go forward.”
What the Mavericks also need going forward is a good massage therapist for Dončić, who took a tumble under the basket in the second half and came away with a stiff neck. He said it was similar to the neck injury he had at the end of the 2020 season, which the league finished in the bubble in Florida.
“It’s my neck. It’s my spine. When I fall down, my head went back a little bit. It’s pretty sore right now. When I turn, I look funny.”
Dončić said the pain in the stiff neck wasn’t a problem when he was playing. But he was very stiff postgame.
“Now we got to treat it every day,” he said. “A lot of messages so that it will get better in a couple days. It’s a lot of massages and steam room. Those things help a lot to erase the pain, to erase the muscle tightness.”
He said he thought this injury might be worse than the one in the bubble, but added: “It’ll be OK in a couple days.”
The Mavericks know there’s no shame in losing to the Suns, who completed a 5-0 road trip with Thursday’s win. They swept the season series 3-0 against the Mavericks and now have won nine consecutive meetings between the teams.
Did the Mavericks run out of steam on the second night of a back-to-back?
“Maybe a little bit, but that’s not an excuse,” Dončić said. “We just didn’t play the way we play usually. They have the best record in the league and we were right there. But they executed the final five minutes way better than us.”
Another teaching moment. And for a team that has recent wins over Golden State, Denver, Memphis and Chicago, a loss to the Suns is not going to dampen spirits.
But with Memphis looming Sunday at AAC, then a visit to Golden State coming Tuesday, the Mavericks know this is the kind of game they better get accustomed to playing.
Twitter: @ESefko
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