Luka Doncic, Mavs Face Red-Hot Suns in Rivalry Rematch: 'Gearing Up for Playoff Basketball'

After losing two consecutive games, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks look to get back on track against Kevin Durant and Devin Booker's streaking Phoenix Suns.

After getting off to a slow start to the season, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns appear to have figured things out, as they've now won six games in a row and sit in sixth-place in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday night's game with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic torched the Suns on Christmas Day to the tune of 50 points in a Mavs' 128-114 win, but since then, Phoenix has won 11 of 14 games with two of those three losses coming against the only West team that's hotter than it is – the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Mavs, on the other hand, are coming off of two consecutive losses and have now lost four of their last six contests. Doncic hasn’t played in a Mavs win since Jan. 7 when they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Center.

The latest loss came in a 119-110 final score against the league-leading Boston Celtics on Monday night, where the Mavs’ energy and focus was severely lacking, especially in the second and third quarters when the game was essentially decided. Head coach Jason Kidd stated that his team needs to do better by not being distracted by whether the officials give fouls or not, and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Tim Hardaway Jr. reiterated that ahead of Wednesday’s match against the Suns.

“There going to let you be physical out there,” Hardaway Jr. said on Tuesday. “I think taking that away from that game against Boston – the refs are going to let you play. They’re going to let you be physical on both ends of the floor. You just got to pick and choose your spots wisely when to do so.”

Kidd’s comments on the officials and his team’s maturity after the loss to Boston were seemingly directed at Doncic, who ended up with a history-making 33-point, 18-rebound, 13-assist triple-double, but only shot 12-30 from the field. Doncic disagreed with his coach’s assessment, though, and stated that it just wasn’t his night.

Lack of Energy Dooms Mavs in Loss to Celtics; Tatum, Brown Out-Duel Luka, Kyrie

Luckily for the Mavs, if there was ever a team for Doncic to have a big bounce-back game against, it would be the Suns. The four-time All-NBA First Teamer’s eyes light up every time he sees purple and orange, so the Mavs might have a decent shot at not only drawing even with the Suns in the West standings, but also winning the regular-season tiebreaker that could be important later down the road.

“The refs are going to let you play smart, but physical at the same time, you just got to play, and move on to the next play if you don’t get the call,” Hardaway said.

“(It’s that time of year), not only for the players, but for the refs calling the game, the coaches, the league in general. They’re gearing up for that caliber of basketball. I think around the All-Star break, after the break, that’s when you see it.”

The Mavs and Suns will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be nationally televised on ABC. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for extensive gameday coverage.