Recap: Suns 89 at Mavericks 98

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Mavericks' home win over Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns, as the defending champions celebrated Dirk Nowitzki's 1,000th career game with their first back-to-back victories of the season.

DALLAS — The list of accolades and achievements for Dirk Nowitzki seems to grow every time the Dallas Mavericks’ leading scorer touches the floor. Wednesday night, more was added to the 7-footer’s future Hall of Fame resume when he stepped on the court for his 1,000th career game with former teammate Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns in town.

Just two nights after draining a vintage stepback jumper for his 8,000th career made field goal, Nowitzki hit the hardwood for a 1,000th time in regular-season play. And with the historic night coming in front of his hometown fans, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took time out before the game to pay homage to the 10-time All-Star.

“A much-improved haircut, an MVP and a championship,” Cuban said when jokingly summing up what Nowitzki has accomplished during his tenure in Dallas. “I can’t even begin to put into words how important he is. I mean, we kind of grew up together with this team. And, you know, it’s just immeasurable.”

“A 1,000 games, that’s a lot of games. It just means that I was healthy a lot and I was able to help my team and this franchise a lot,” Nowitzki said of the milestone. “Now, we’re looking for maybe another 1,000. I don’t know. Let’s see how far we can take it. … It’s been an amazing ride so far.”

With the team looking to build off Monday night’s 100-87 win over Oklahoma City, the Mavericks thought they’d need more of those immeasurable qualities as they tried to improve upon a 2-4 record entering the night. Wednesday night, however, the Mavs didn’t need much from their NBA Finals MVP as the team’s supporting cast gave its superstar plenty of assistance en route to an impressive 98-89 win.

But the Mavericks (3-4) would meet some resistance in the early going, facing an energetic Suns team from the opening tipoff that would begin the game on a 7-2 run. After an early 20-second timeout by Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, the team immediately clawed its way in front with an 8-0 run. The two teams then battled to a 25-all tie at the end of 12 minutes of play after a 3-pointer by Suns big man Hakim Warrick before the close of the opening quarter.

Even through one, Lamar Odom continued his offensive assault from the first quarter into the second period to power the Mavs to a lead as large as 10.

“Just getting a little big more comfortable,” Odom said of his play. “My body is under me a little bit more. I made some plays to stay in the game and I’m getting my second wind.”

He added: “There’s so many players making basketball plays. It’s an honor to be on the court with these guys.”

The Suns (2-4) crept back into the game slowly with timely scoring. Still, with forward Shawn Marion shaking off a sickness and providing above-the-rim theatrics, the Mavericks escaped the first half with a 49-41 advantage.

Led by Nowitzki’s 13 points and Odom’s nine points on a combined 8-for-16 shooting, the Mavs survived 37.5 percent shooting compared to the Suns’ 38.6 percent in the first two quarters. And with starting center Brendan Haywood snatching down 11 first-half rebounds, the Mavs held a 33-23 margin on the glass at the break.

The Mavs once again leaned on Marion to provide a spark when the second half began. But the Dallas defense would quickly become the story in the third period, as the home team turned the Suns’ giveaways into scores at the other end.

The quarter was highlighted, however, by a spectacular alley-oop connection from point guard Jason Kidd to highflying Rodrigue Beaubois, leading to a clutch 3-pointer by Jason Terry to beat the buzzer and give the Mavericks a 77-66 edge heading to the final 12 minutes.

Terry was just beginning his long-range assault from the outside, firing and switching three more triples to give the Mavs a 92-71 lead with 7:46 remaining.

“Our ball movement was great. I started the season pretty slow for me, but I stayed with it,” Terry said of his 3-point barrage. “Dirk draws a lot of attention and he did a great job of finding guys tonight.”

Meanwhile, Odom continued to have his best game as a Maverick. But the Suns wouldn’t go away easily, forcing Carlisle to call timeout after a Jared Dudley 3-pointer cut the Mavs’ lead to 94-82 with 4:13 left.

The Suns continued to battle with Nash draining a three to trim Dallas’ edge to 96-87 inside of the game’s final three minutes. But Phoenix’s comeback attempt would run out of steam inside the final minute, with the Mavs pulling their starters in the final seconds.

Led by Nowitzki’s 20 points and seven rebounds and Terry’s 18 points on 5-for-8 from 3-point range, the Mavs collected back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Odom finished with a season-high 15 points off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting, as the Dallas reserves accounted for 52 points and 23 rebounds.

“Well, the second unit’s goal is to come in and impact the game on both ends of the floor, and it’s not just good enough to go out and play,” Terry said of the bench’s performance. “We want to dominate every time we step out on the floor. When you’ve got guys like Lamar Odom, Vince Carter and myself, these are All-Star potential guys, and anybody we face we should have the upper hand.”

“There’s not too many benches with two Sixth Man of the Year and a Hall of Famer,” Odom added, noting the potent potential of he, Terry and Carter at the offensive end.

Marion made it four Mavericks in double figures with 13 points in the first unit.

Marcin Gortat led four Suns in double figures with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Nash finished with 15 points and 12 assists. Led my Haywood’s season-high 12 boards the Mavericks overcame 41.8 percent shooting for the game — compared to 45.1 percent for the Suns — with a 53-42 rebounding advantage.

The Mavericks now immediately turn their attention to Thursday night, returning to action on the second night of a back-to-back and looking for their third straight win in San Antonio against the rival Spurs in a game that will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Spurs (4-2) enter the game also on a back-to-back, claiming a 101-95 home win over Golden State on Wednesday night without the injured Manu Ginobili (fractured left hand) in the lineup.

“We’re digging ourselves out of a hole right now and this next game we already know what that means, it’s rivalry time,” Terry said when looking ahead to the Spurs. “It’s a big brother versus little brother scenario, but now we have one ring to go up against their four. So, it’s going to be a fun ball game, and we always like going into another team’s home and doing some damage.”

The team returns home against the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night, in a game that will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-6287.

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Rivalry Pack: Aside from being a season ticket holder, the only way for Mavs fans to attend either of the two Los Angeles Lakers games is through the Rivalry Pack. Tickets to the Feb.22 and March 21 games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers can be purchased as part of a three-game package that includes one (1) of the three premium games and two (2) additional regular season games.

RPL Nights: RPL Nights return for the sixth season and will feature special discounted tickets for 10 pre-selected games. Tickets normally priced $9 will be $2, $15 will be $10, $31 will be $20 and $42 will be $32.