Surge in final two minutes allows Suns to pull away from Mavs

And just like that, the Dallas Mavericks have been yanked back to the bottom of the Western Conference.

The Phoenix Suns rode exceptional play by their backcourt and rallied to a 102-95 victory over the Mavs before a sellout crowd of 19,570 Thursday night at American Airlines Center.

The loss leaves the Mavs 11-25 and in last place in the Western Conference. With the win, the Suns climbed past the Mavs, out of the West cellar and to a 12-25 record.

Suns guards Eric Bledsoe (26 points, seven assists) and 20-year-old Devin Booker (22 points) left the Mavs discombobulated. Particularly with the game still up for grabs.

Deron Williams tallied four straight points to tie the game at 93 with 2:24 left. From there, Bledsoe put his signature on the game, scoring seven points in a row for a 100-93 Suns lead with 23.7 seconds left.

A 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Mavs a 72-70 lead. But the Suns outscored the Mavs 32-23 in the final quarter, with Bledsoe scoring 12 of those points and guards Brandon Knight and Booker combining for 10 points.

“They played well in the fourth, you’ve got to give them credit,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Their guards made shots, they penetrated, and they got some second-chance opportunities.

“Some of those plays we’ve got to get the rebound when it’s there, and then pick-and-roll coverage has got to be better.”

It’s the first of four meetings this season between the Mavs and Suns, whose center – Tyson Chandler – helped Dallas capture the 2011 NBA title. On Thursday, Chandler clogged the middle and had 18 rebounds. The entire Mavs’ starting lineup combined for 20 rebounds.

“Tyson will go down as one of the all-time great Mavs for his contributions to the championship in 2011,” Carlisle said. “When he came back the one year (in 2014) he played extremely well for us.

“We have huge respect for him as an organization, and personally he’s a close friend. He’s a great family guy and he’s a tremendous player, and so it’s always good to see him. It’s not much fun competing against him.”

Part of the Mavs’ problems, besides getting walloped 53-31 on the boards, was their inability to get the ball to Harrison Barnes.

In the first half Barnes had a game-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shots. But in the second half he took only four shots, made one and scored five points.

Williams led the Mavs with 20 points – half coming in the fourth quarter. Seth Curry (16 points on 6-of-9 shots) continued his solid play.

Dirk Nowitzki started at center and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Devin Harris added 12 points. But center Andrew Bogut wound up with no points, no rebounds and five fouls in 20 minutes. Bogut was the subject of trade speculation earlier in the day.

The Mavs missed their first five shots, but hit eight of their next 11 to go up 19-14 following a 3-pointer by Wesley Matthews late in the first quarter.

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 11:40 PM with the headline "Surge in final two minutes allows Suns to pull away from Mavs."