PHOENIX — Kyrie Irving scored 20 factors, Daniel Gafford added 16 and the Dallas Mavericks received their first sport since star Luka Doncic was injured, beating the Phoenix Suns 98-89 on Friday night time.
Kevin Durant scored 35 factors for the Suns, who’ve misplaced 4 of their final 5 video games.
Doncic is anticipated to overlook a few month with a calf harm suffered within the staff’s Christmas Day loss to Minnesota. The Mavs had been additional shorthanded Friday within the third quarter after forwards Naji Marshall and PJ Washington — together with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic — had been ejected after a short battle.
The Mavs however persevered because of a balanced effort on each ends of the courtroom. Dallas by no means trailed and led by as many as 18. Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber every scored 15 factors and Klay Thompson added 11.
Dallas took a 55-39 lead into halftime, led by Irving’s 15 factors. The Suns shot simply 33.3% via the primary two quarters.
Mavericks: It was a troublesome win for the Mavs, who managed the sport from the beginning regardless of enjoying with out Doncic. Irving made simply 6 of 21 pictures total, however 5 of 10 from behind the arc.
Suns: Two days after a galvanizing Christmas Day win over the Nuggets, the Suns have slipped again into mediocrity. A part of the issue is the absence of injured All-Star Devin Booker, however because the Mavericks confirmed Friday, groups can nonetheless have some success with out considered one of their stars.
The Suns briefly lower the Mavs’ benefit to 81-75 halfway via the fourth, however Dallas’ Quentin Grimes responded with a troublesome 3-pointer to chop the result in 9.
The Suns are 7-14 since beginning the season at 8-1.
Mavericks at Path Blazers Saturday; Suns at Warriors Saturday.
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