Mavericks-Suns Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Feb 01 2013 3:06AM

A stirring comeback might have given the Phoenix Suns just the boost they needed. A win over a longtime nemesis could have the same effect.

The Dallas Mavericks, though, handled the Suns this past weekend but might not get Dirk Nowitzki back from injury when they try to continue their recent dominance in the series Friday night.

Phoenix (16-30) won its first two games under interim coach Lindsey Hunter before suffering back-to-back losses, including a 110-95 defeat in Dallas on Sunday. The Suns appeared to be heading for another loss Wednesday when they fell behind by 13 points in the fourth quarter to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Instead, Phoenix rallied for a 92-86 victory in former point guard Steve Nash's return to Arizona. Michael Beasley had 10 of his season-high 27 points in the final period and Luis Scola had eight of his 12.

"We came together. You know that has really been our problem this whole season, the end of the third and fourth quarter," Beasley said. "We just told each other we do not want to lose. … It just was not an option for us. We went out there and executed where we needed to execute."

The Suns haven't executed as well against the Mavericks lately, losing 10 of the past 11 matchups and two this season. After trailing by as many as 20 points, Phoenix got within five early in the fourth quarter Sunday but Dallas' lead ballooned back up to 19 with 6:05 remaining.

Nowitzki and Shawn Marion each had 18 points in that game but Nowitzki was scratched from Thursday's 100-97 loss at Golden State because of a strained right adductor. He said he suffered the injury late in Dallas' loss in Portland on Tuesday.

Nowitzki added that he was doubtful for Friday's game but said he doesn't think the injury is related to his knee surgery, which held him out until Dec. 23.

"It's just Father Time, bro," Nowitzki said. "Stuff happens. I never pulled a muscle in my whole career. There's always a first one."

Dallas (19-27) came back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter Thursday to tie that game at 92 with 4:15 remaining but never claimed the lead. The Mavericks failed to reach 100 points for the first time in 10 games despite 25 from O.J. Mayo, 22 from Vince Carter and 18 from Shawn Marion, who also had a season-high 17 rebounds.

If Nowitzki has to sit out again, the Mavericks could manage without him. With its star forward recovering from knee surgery, Dallas won 97-94 in Phoenix on Dec. 6.

Mayo, who had a team-best 23 points, hit the go-ahead, 21-foot jumper with 35 seconds left, then Carter and Darren Collison combined to make eight free throws.

Phoenix earned its most recent win over Dallas on March 8 at U.S. Airways Center. Jared Dudley's 18 points led the way in that 96-94 victory.

This might be a good opportunity for the Suns to earn another win as Dallas has dropped four of six and is 7-18 away from home this season.

Without Nowitzki, Mavericks beat Suns 109-99

By BOB BAUM
Posted Feb 02 2013 12:52AM

PHOENIX (AP) With or without Dirk Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks almost always beat the Phoenix Suns.

Friday night was more of the same.

O.J. Mayo scored 20 points to lead six Dallas players in double figures and the Mavericks, despite the absence of Nowitzki, dominated the fourth quarter in a 109-99 victory.

Darren Collison added 19 points and Vince Carter 17 for the Mavericks, minus Nowitzki for the second game in as many nights because of a sore right hip.

Shannon Brown scored 20 and Goran Dragic added 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Suns, 0-3 against Dallas this season and losers of 11 of the last 12 in the series. Two of the Mavericks' wins this season over the Suns came without Nowitzki.

Dallas had to shake off Thursday night's tough loss at Golden State.

"In this league, you have to forget about it and move on to the next game," Collison said. "So we forgot about it just in time and we wanted to make sure we closed this one out, and we did."

After 12 first-half turnovers, Dallas had three in the second half.

"Guys did a much better job," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our execution was better, our defense was better, our rebounding was better so we were able to finally get a lead and build on it."

Shawn Marion scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas.

The Suns lost at home for the first time in four games since interim coach Lindsey Hunter took over from the fired Alvin Gentry.

"We are still young in this process and you kind of expect things like that to happen," Hunter said of his team's inability to get fourth-quarter stops. "I know what lies ahead of us and I know how hard it is, just trying to get everybody collectively as a group to understand that you have to do it together."

After scoring a season-high 27 points in Wednesday night's win over the Lakers and averaging 18.2 points per game since Hunter took over, the Suns' Michael Beasley was 2-of-13 shooting for four points.

"I shot the ball great tonight," Beasley insisted.

But he didn't make many of them.

"I got the shots I wanted," he said. "The ball just didn't fall. That's it."

The Mavericks trailed most of the night before Carter's 3-pointer put them up for good, 84-81, with 8:51 to play. The basket was part of a 12-4 run that gave Dallas a 92-85 lead on Jae Crowder's 3 with 6 1/2 minutes to go.

Phoenix never got closer than five again.

The fourth quarter collapse was in contrast to the Suns' emotional, come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier.

"Our intensity was not the same like last game," Dragic said. "We were not engaged in defense."

Dallas' only lead of the first half was at 2-0 but the Suns never were up by more than seven in the first two quarters and it was tied at 54 at the break.

Dragic had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in the first quarter, with the Suns holding a 31-29 lead. Brown opened the second quarter with a pair of 21-footers to make it 35-29, then capped an 11-4 run with a 3-pointer to put Phoenix up 40-33 with 9:10 left in the half.

The Mavericks caught the Suns with a 15-8 surge, tying it at 50 on Mayo's 3-pointer 2:16 before the break.

The Mavs went nearly 4 1/2 minutes without a point as the Suns scored 11 straight to go up 71-61 on Marcin Gortat's layup with an assist from Dragic with 4:45 left in the third quarter. But Dallas responded with a 13-2 run to take the lead for just the third time of the night, 74-73, on Brandan Wright's inside basket with 1:12 left in the period. Brown's basket 20 seconds later put Phoenix up 75-74 entering the fourth.

NOTES: The Suns play seven of their next eight on the road, where they are 4-19, second-worst in the NBA (Washington is 3-20). ... For the second time in three games, Hunter used rookie Kendall Marshall as the backup point guard instead of Sebastian Telfair. ... Dallas is 13-16 without Nowitzki, 7-11 with him. ... The teams don't meet again until April 10 in Dallas, where the Mavs can sweep the season series. ... Dragic has one career triple-double. ... The Suns are 3-3 since Hunter took over.

Notebook: Mavericks 109, Suns 99

Mike Tulumello, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:13 AM - Updated Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:26 AM

THE FACTS: The Dallas Mavericks are still breathing in their long-shot quest to squeeze into the playoffs. In pulling out a 109-99 win at the Phoenix Suns Friday night, the Mavericks broke open a game late that was virtually even for three quarters. They won even though Dirk Nowitzki missed his second straight with a right adductor, strain and Chris Kaman missed his third straight with a concussion. Darren Collison had a great all-around game for the Mavericks, shooting 6-for-9 for 19 points, plus six rebounds and six assists. O.J. Mayo had 20 points though he shot just 7-for-19.

For the Suns, Goran Dragic had 19 points, nine asissts and eight rebounds. Shannon Brown had 20 points off the bench while Luis Scola had 18 points and eight boards. The Suns dropped to 3-3 under new coach Lindsey Hunter. Backup center Jermaine O'Neal remains out with an irregular heartbeat. He is improving, though, and could return in a few days.

The Mavericks (20-27) have won all three games vs. the Suns (16-31) this season and have won 11 of their last 12 against them.

QUOTABLE: "It's an important win for us. Everybody did their job."

-- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle

QUOTABLE II: "If we keep pushing, anything is possible. If the buzzer-beaters turn in our favor, who knows?"

-- Shawn Marion on the playoff chances for the Mavericks, who have lost a series of close games late

THE STAT: The Mavericks' bench outscored the Suns' reserves 52-25.

TURNING POINT: The Mavericks, leading 87-85 with 7:00 left, got two free throws from Mayo and a 3-pointer from Jae Crowder to open a 92-85 lead. Then, with less than 4:00 left and the Mavs leading 96-91, they got three shots on one possession. That included an air ball that bounced off a sleepy Marcin Gortat and out of bounds to the Mavs. Mayo then hit a 20-footer to seal it.

QUOTABLE III: "Those were the five or six best minutes he's played since he's been here."

-- Rick Carlisle on Collison handling the Mavs down the home stretch

HOT: Crowder hit 5-for-7 off the bench for the Mavs.

NOT: Michael Beasley shot 2-for-13.

GOOD MOVE: The Mavs' Carlisle used 10 players with only Mayo (37 minutes) playing more than 31 minutes.

BAD MOVE: Hunter had non-scorers Markieff Morris and the seldom-used rookie Kendall Marshall in the game for a combined 23 minutes. They produced one point.

QUOTABLE IV: "I know what lies ahead of us, and I know how hard it is."

-- Lindsey Hunter on the Suns' season

ROOKIE WATCH: Marshall, dusted off to replace the usual backup point guard Sebastian Telfair in this one, shot 0-for-2 for one point with two assists, two rebounds and two turnovers.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Beasley had been a new player since Hunter replaced fired coach Alvin Gentry. He is averaging 18.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.4 minutes (He had averaged 6.3 points in his previous 16 games). But Beasley fell flat Friday night. In addition to shooting 2-for-13 for four points, he had three turnovers. "

QUOTABLE V: "He just seemed a step off tonight."

-- LIndsey Hunter said of Beasley

NOTABLE: Since leaving the Suns, Marion said he has lost only one game against them, when he played for Toronto.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Monday @ Oklahoma City, Wednesday vs. Trail Blazers, Saturday vs. Warriors. For the Suns, Saturday @ Golden State, Tuesday @ Memphis, Wednesday @ New Orleans.

• Mavericks: Cunningham, Kaman
• Suns: Frye, O'Neal

• Mavericks: --
• Suns: Dragic

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #59 Gary Zielinski, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 16304
• Duration: 2:19