PHOENIX, Feb. 17 (Ticker) -- A new coach inspired the Phoenix Suns for a quarter.

Hours after coach Scott Skiles resigned, the Suns responded with another lackluster performance under Frank Johnson in a 105-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, who got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Dirk Nowitzki.

Admitting that his players were uninspired, Skiles stepped down Sunday and was replaced by Johnson, an assistant on his staff.

"I was thinking about throwing it in and resigning after the second quarter -- 35-11, whoa," Johnson said. "Obviously, it would've been nice to win the first game."

NBA TV highlights from Mavs-Suns: 56k | 300k Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs put the game out of reach early. Barry Gossage NBAE/Getty Images

The disappointing Suns (25-27), who have not missed the playoffs since 1988, entered the contest 10th in the Western Conference. They have lost three straight games and four of five.

Early on, it looked like the coaching change would pay immediate dividends as the Suns raced to a 27-12 lead. But the Mavericks used a 21-0 burst bridging the end of the first and beginning of the second period to take the lead for good.

Shawn Marion had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Tony Delk, starting in place of point guard Stephon Marbury, added 25 points for the Suns.

"I think when you make a coaching change the day of the game, it's kind of hard," said Delk, who made 8-of-19 shots. "It's hard for him to know which guys to play, which rotation. You've got to get a feel when guys are playing well and when they're not. It's going to take Frank time, but he's going to do a good job."

Marbury, who was late to Sunday's shootaround, went scoreless in 14 minutes and sat the entire second half. He did not talk to reporters after the game.

Marion and Delk provided the early scoring, combining to score Phoenix's 14 points before a basket by Penny Hardway with 6:08 left gave the Suns a 16-6 advantage.

Hardaway, who scored 16 points, sank a jumper with 1:57 left to give the Suns their biggest lead at 27-12.

But after falling into that early hole, Dallas began to unveil its firepower and showed why it is one of the NBA's top teams.

Steve Nash, Adrian Griffin and former Sun Michael Finley all had baskets to end the quarter for the Mavs, fueling their run to start the second period.

Nash scored six points in the surge, including a 3-pointer, and veteran Johnny Newman -- waived by the Suns earlier this season -- capped the spurt with a 17-footer, giving Dallas a 33-27 advantage with 8:21 remaining before halftime.

Rodney Rogers drilled a 3-pointer and Marion followed with a basket but that was as close as the Suns would get.

"I thought they were full of emotion, considering the circumstances surrounding today," Dallas coach Don Nelson said. "You always expect that they're going to try and impress a new coach and give a lot of energy. And then, of course, it evens out. After you blow that energy out, oftentimes there's a big lull. And that could've happened to them."

Rogers scored nine points to lead Phoenix's reserves, who were outscored, 32-12.

"The first unit went out there and put a pretty impressive number up on a really good team," Hardaway said. "We came in with the reserves and didn't have the same energy. Everything dropped."

Nowitzki and Newman each had seven points in a 20-6 run to close the half, giving Dallas a 53-38 cushion. The Mavs made 14-of-25 shots in the second quarter.

"What hurt us was that with the first unit, we were able to get some shots, push the ball, have an up-tempo game and get some layups, get some good looks, and on the defensive end we held them to two layups," Johnson said. "In the second quarter, we gave them about seven or eight layups. Our defense let us down a lot."

Meanwhile, the Suns struggled in the second quarter against Dallas' 3-2 zone defense as they made just 5-of-20 shots.

"The zone really helped us," Nowitzki said. "They really didn't know what to do against it. It worked very well. They really looked terrible against the zone. There was no movement, we stayed with them and they didn't make their shots. That what won the game."

Newman finished with a season-high 17 points, making 6-of-8 shots.

"They went on a run and we couldn't stop it," Hardaway said. "They were so good shooting the basketball in the second quarter, you didn't think they were ever going to miss."

Finley netted 19 points and Nash 18 for the Mavs, who shot 44 percent (38-of-86) and made 10-of-20 from 3-point range.

Dallas was in control the entire second half, leading by double digits throughout and by as much as 100-82 with 2:15 remaining after Nowitzki sank a short shot in the lane.

Phoenix shot just 41 percent (35-of-86) and committed 14 turnovers, leading to 20 points for Dallas.