Recap: Suns 87 at Mavericks 93

Earl K. Sneed recaps the Dallas Mavericks' thrilling win over the Phoenix Suns as the defending champs began their four-game homestand with a seventh straight victory at home.

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks entered Monday night trying not to get caught looking ahead.

Taking the court for the second matchup of what’s expected to be a four-game stint without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki (sore right knee) and fourth straight contest without swingman Vince Carter (sprained left foot), the defending champions didn’t plan on being caught off guard by the Phoenix Suns with Wednesday night’s ring ceremony and faceoff with ex-Mav J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves looming. And with the Mavericks trying to begin their current homestand by extending a six-game home winning streak, the team welcomed in former point guard Steve Nash and the Suns looking to hold a franchise-record 15th straight opponent under 100 points.

Behind a stingy defense and the scoring of forward Shawn Marion, the Mavericks (11-7) would have no problem extending both streaks, winning their third straight game overall with a 93-87 victory.

But the Mavericks would find themselves in a shootout early with Marion and center Brendan Haywood combating a quick start by the Suns (6-10) at the other end. The Mavs then turned to their reserves, taking a 32-27 advantage after the first quarter despite Suns forward Grant Hill’s 12 first-quarter points to better Marion’s 10 points to lead Dallas.

Using the big men duo of Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright, the Mavericks would attack inside relentlessly and get to the foul line while the lead ballooned to as much as nine.

“We came in with a lot of energy,” Mahinmi said of his and Wright’s first-half performances. “I think the starters weren’t flat, but it was one of those games where you needed that spark. Me, Brandan, Brian [Cardinal] and the other guys off the bench, we did a good job of bringing that energy and that got the starters going.”

Phoenix would rally, however, with a 12-2 run to take a 42-41 edge on Marcin Gortat’s inside presence after guard Shannon Brown got the Suns back in the game. The Mavs would return fire again with Marion and Haywood, though, taking a 49-46 lead into the halftime break.

With Hill scoreless in the second quarter, Marion matched the veteran forward to lead all scorers with 12 points through two quarters. Meanwhile, Haywood matched Mahinmi with a season-high 10 points at the midway mark, as the Mavericks’ 41.9 percent shooting bettered the Suns’ 39.5 percent. The Mavericks also controlled the interior in the first half with a 26-18 edge in points in the paint and 23-21 rebounding margin, scoring 17 points off the Suns’ nine turnovers in the half and surrendering only five points off their own seven turnovers.

The Mavs would begin the third quarter with Lamar Odom, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year who went scoreless through the first two quarters while operating as Nowitzki’s stand-in, looking for his own shot and lifting his team very quickly to a double-digit lead. But the quarter would belong to Marion, who continued his assault while raining in back-to-back 3-pointers to surpass his previous season-high of 22 points posted two games prior.

“Shawn was great tonight, just great. A lot of the plays he made were ones that were very timely,” Carlisle said with high praise for the versatile forward. “The threes that he hit in the third quarter were huge.”

“I’ve shot the three my whole career; I just don’t have to do it here. Here I don’t have to do it, because they need somebody who can score inside the paint. I had to (concentrate on playing defense) like I did if we wanted to win a championship, but I’ve always had the 3-pointer in my game,” Marion said after hitting three triples in the third period. “When you stop (shooting threes) it definitely feels a little weird, though.”

Behind the four-time All-Star, the lead would swell to as large as 15 while the Suns’ Ronnie Price and Hill showed their frustration at the other end after earning technical foul calls for arguing with officials. The Mavs then escaped into the game’s final quarter a 74-65 advantage after Marion scored 14 points in the third period.

“My teammates are looking for me. I’ve been able to do a lot of different things on the floor. This is about just helping my teammates,” Marion added.

A flagrant-1 foul by Mavericks forward Brian Cardinal on Brown would give the Suns life in the fourth quarter, but Mahinmi’s presence inside would keep the visitors at bay. The Mavs would receive a scare, however, when third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois went to the floor hard after suffering a blow from a flagrant-2 foul by Sebastian Telfair — earning the former high school standout an ejection — during a transition scoring attempt. Beaubois would stay in the game, but the Mavs would have to survive yet another Phoenix spurt until fittingly it would be Marion delivering the knockout blow with a running hook to put the Mavs ahead 93-84 with 35.4 seconds left as he matched his Mavericks-high of 29 points.

Behind Marion’s 11-of-21 shooting and 4-for-6 from 3-point range, the Mavericks outshot the Suns from the floor, 40.7 percent to 37.3 percent. Mahinmi fell just shy of a double-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Meanwhile, Jason Terry (12), Odom (11) and Haywood (10) all scored in double figures.

“Every night we’re going to need someone to step up big. Tonight, [Marion] was the big star. But the bench was right there. A lot of other guys played well, too,” Carlisle said.

“How many teams are in the NBA? Thirty? And all of them have stories for their team. The story for our team is depth. We’ve got so many guys that can play, play big-time minutes, have big games and fill stat sheets up,” Odom added.

Hill and Gortat shared team-high honors for the Suns with 19 points apiece with the Suns’ big man also snatching down 17 rebounds. The Suns also finished with a 52-42 rebounding edge and an 18-13 margin in second-chance points. But the Mavs were able to capitalize off the Suns’ miscues, turning 19 Phoenix turnovers into 21 points and only giving up eight points off their own 12 giveaways.

The Mavericks will now return to the practice court Tuesday before hosting Minnesota a night later with the championship ring ceremony before the game. Wednesday night’s Timberwolves-Mavericks game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 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).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.