Recap: Mavericks 122 at Suns 99

Earl K. Sneed reports from Phoenix and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' road win over the Steve Nash-less Suns as the defending champs concluded a game-heavy month of January with a 13-5 record.

PHOENIX — It’s not often that two NBA teams meet three times in the same month without it being in a postseason series. But because of the hectic nature of the 66-game shortened season, that was exactly the case for the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns heading into Monday night’s matchup.

One night after holding off the San Antonio Spurs without injured lead guard Jason Kidd (strained right calf) in a 101-100 overtime win at home, the Mavericks journeyed to Phoenix for a third meeting with the Suns. And with two-time MVP and ex-Mav Steve Nash out due to a left thigh contusion, the defending champs looked for a third victory over the Suns squad after squeaking out two wins back at the American Airlines Center by single digits earlier in the month.

Without their floor general and with the Suns (7-13) minus their undisputed leader, the Mavs would have no problem downing their opponent with ease for a third time. And after using lights-out shooting and setting a new season-high for points, the Mavericks (14-8) cruised to a blowout 122-99 victory.

“We have so many playmakers, so many guys that can put the ball in the hole, we just really have to trust each other,” new addition Delonte West said after the win. “That was on full display tonight. We didn’t have our leader, J-Kidd, but we might build off this and get him back as soon as possible.”

With their eighth straight win over the Suns, the Mavs finished a franchise-record 18 games in the month of January with a 13-5 record after starting the season 0-3.

“Look, we’re a franchise that expects to win games and it starts with [Mavericks owner Mark Cuban] at the top,” coach Rick Carlisle would say. “We place high standard on our play. And when you get off to an abysmal start like we did, it’s painful. But we’ve climbed out of that and we’ve got to understand that just ’cause we’re winning and playing well now, there’s nothing guaranteed and we’ve gotta keep working at it.”

Without Kidd for the second straight night, Carlisle continued to roll with the starting lineup of Rodrigue Beaubois at the point alongside ex-Suns Vince Carter and Shawn Marion, leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki and center Brendan Haywood. Meanwhile, the ball would swing Carter’s way early after his season-high 21 points Sunday against the Spurs. Fellow newcomer Lamar Odom then joined in on the fun, raining a jumper to beat the buzzer as the Mavs headed into the second stanza ahead, 31-24.

The Mavs would sprint to a double-digit advantage early in the second period while finding success from the outside, but Suns big man Marcin Gortat continuously kept his team in the game through his offensive attack inside. The Mavs would then turn to Marion and Carter again, before reserve guard Jason Terry picked back up where he left off after his season-high 34 points against the Spurs.

The reigning titleholders caught fire from the outside, however, after back-to-back threes by Carter were followed by a pair of long-range shots from West, giving the Mavs a season-high scoring output for a half and 66-48 advantage at the break after the 6-foot-3 guard’s buzzer-beating score inside.

“We were able to really blow it open there at the end of the second,” Nowitzki said. “That was a huge run for us to go up 20 at the half and kind of cruise from there.”

Hitting 10-of-16 from behind the 3-point arc in the half, the Mavs outshot the Suns from the field through two quarters, 57.4 percent to 48.6 percent. The Mavs also leaned on their new pieces to get off to the quick start with Carter leading all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-9 from the field while West pitched in 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench.

A jumper from Nowitzki to start the third quarter pushed the lead to 20 immediately after the halftime break. Marion then took control while scoring six straight Dallas points.

“It’s a little different coming here and playing as a visitor in this gym,” Marion admitted after spending 8 1/2 seasons with the Suns. “I’m a Dallas Maverick right now and that’s all you can focus on. When you play in a city like this for a long time, there is definitely part of you that is still there.”

Fellow former Sun Carter and West then once again found success from behind the arc. And with the lead reaching as much as 27, West sent the Mavs into the game’s final quarter in style, draining a jumper from just inside the top of the key to give the visiting team a 96-70 advantage entering the fourth.

After going down 28, the Suns continued to fight, forcing a Carlisle timeout when Phoenix cut the Mavs’ lead to 99-78 with 9:14 left. But Marion and West quieted the brief Suns spurt to keep the Phoenix team at bay with timely scores, before Carlisle soon emptied his bench as his reserves finished off the game.

Led by West’s season-high 25 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting and 5-of-6 from three, the Mavs notched their third straight victory overall.

“You know, I can shoot the basketball. The coaches keep telling me to just step up and take my shots. … The ball found the open man tonight and I was just knocking down shots,” West modestly said of his night.

In the first unit, Carter pitched in 21 points for the second straight night and Marion added 20 points against his former team. Terry and Nowitzki made it five Mavs in double figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

“We’re moving the ball, finding the open guy and guys are hitting shots,” Carter explained. “This is a team where we don’t really care how many points you score. We’re worried about are we playing together and are we making the right play.”

Meanwhile, Gortat led four Suns in double figures with 17 points and 10 rebounds. But the Mavericks outshot the Suns from the field on the night, 55.2 percent to 43.8 percent, while also holding a 44-33 rebounding edge.

The Mavs finished with 31 assists as well to just 11 turnovers. And in addition to 14-of-27 shooting from behind the 3-point line, Dallas also did plenty of damage in the paint, where they held a 52-34 edge to accompany a 23-8 margin in second-chance points.

“We caught a break with Nash not playing. I don’t think you can overlook that as a big factor in the game, but we played. I thought our effort was even and consistent. We were able to keep fresh guys on the floor and we moved the ball well and made shots. Our defense was good enough to win. It’s a good win for us and we have another game on Wednesday,” Carlisle concluded.

Dallas returns home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. The two teams are tied at 1-1 in the season series with both winning at home. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest and nationally on ESPN at 7 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.