No Déjà Vu: Doncic Takes Care of Business in Mavs' Blowout Win Over Suns
The Dallas Mavericks came into Monday night's matchup with the Phoenix Suns riding some momentum after a blowout win against the New York Knicks over the weekend. In their season-opening game against the Suns, the Mavs built a lead as large as 22 points, but ended up losing by two before it said and done.
Dallas poured it on Phoenix early and often yet again at American Airlines Center on Monday ... but this time, Luka Doncic and company finished the job with a 130-111 win.
The second consecutive victory pushed Dallas above .500 for the first time in nearly two weeks with a 12-11 record. The Suns dropped to 16-8 on the young season. The win also snapped the Mavs' 10-game regular-season losing streak to the Suns that dated back to Nov. 29, 2019.
Doncic, who didn't have to play in the fourth quarter of this one, finished with a game-high 33 points on 12-20 shooting from the field, including 4-9 from deep. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out eight assists in 29 minutes of action. Doncic's much-improved defense was on display as well, as he ended up with two blocks and one steal on the night.
Spencer Dinwiddie, despite shooting just 5-15 from the field, hit some big shots for Dallas throughout the night en route to 21 points. Dallas had four other players score in double-figures, including Christian Wood (18), Tim Hardaway Jr. (17), Josh Green (16) and promising rookie Jaden Hardy (10).
Hardy, who scored the first NBA points of his career at MSG on Saturday, poured in his 10 points against the Suns in just two minutes of action. He shot 4-5 from the field and showed why he's the G League's leading scorer for the Texas Legends so far this season. Hardy scored just one point less than Suns star Devin Booker (11) in 28 less minutes.
Next up, the Mavs will take a flight to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets on a second night of a back-to-back. The Mavs and Nuggets have split the season series so far, 1-1. Reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokić has yet to play against Dallas this season, but that is likely to change on Tuesday.
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