Suns doomed by rare flat offensive outing in loss to Mavericks

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have been able to lean on stellar offensive efficiency to brave the rocky tides of their recent woes, so they predictably looked hopeless in Friday’s 98-89 loss to the Dallas Mavericks when the offense tailed off.

The Suns (15-15) since Nov. 17 ranked third in true shooting percentage over a 16-game stretch, a backbone of a field goal percentage in the high 40s (48.9%) and 3-point percentage at nearly 40% (39.6%).

Phoenix’s offensive process was fairly solid in the first half, but against a stout Dallas defense that did a good job taking away most of the primary options, the Suns just didn’t make enough shots.

“Yeah, because they sell out on the ball a lot,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said when asked if he liked the quality of shots. “So we were getting some good looks but it just didn’t go in. That’s the name of the game, we’ll just get ready for tomorrow.”

The offensive formula for a win when shots aren’t falling is getting to the rim and either scoring there or drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line. In a first half which the Suns shot 33.3%, they had two baskets at the rim contribute to 10 total points in the paint, along with two made free throws.

The overall formula for a win when shots aren’t falling is great defense. Phoenix, however, returned to its fairly uninspiring and meh levels on that end in the first half after a Christmas win suggested it was still capable of reaching solid footing from the beginning of the season.

The Suns were down 16 at halftime before Durant got everyone in the backpack to cut it to eight entering the fourth quarter. He had 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting and the rest of his team was shooting 28.6%, with no one else in double figures.

“That’s what’s what is frustrating, man. We gotta get him some help,” Suns guard Bradley Beal said. “That’s me, that’s everybody else — we gotta pick him up and assist him that way.”

Durant scored 15 of his 35 points on the night in that third quarter, including eight of his makes at the foul line, a nod to his elite understanding of how Phoenix had to get back in the game. And while the Suns’ defense got much better, not bringing that in the first half is why they lost.

With Durant at 31 minutes and Phoenix playing the next night in the bay, he had to get a rest, and the Suns remained alive during it. Kyrie Irving’s woeful shooting night persisted across that time and Phoenix was down just nine with over seven minutes remaining.

A Royce O’Neale triple got Phoenix within six before Quentin Grimes matched it and then Dallas’ lead shortly later grew to 15 with just under four minutes to go. Durant was not able to get a shot up over that three minutes and change, a credit to Dallas’ defensive execution late.

Beal had two turnovers in that time and struggled with 5-of-17 shooting, four assists and four turnovers. He was actually moving great early and had rhythm getting to his spots but couldn’t get anything to drop. Without Devin Booker (left groin strain), these are the types of games he has to be Bradley [expletive] Beal in. He was on Wednesday and was not on Friday.

The most eventful part of the evening was in the early third quarter, when signs of Phoenix spiraling included two offensive fouls for Jusuf Nurkic.

The second one was fairly physical, and Nurkic’s walk back up the court included a slight bump of Irving. That combination of events earned some chatter from Dallas’ Naji Marshall, which Nurkic saw and responded with by walking back toward Dallas’ huddle at the foul line. A brief face-to-face meeting quickly escalated via a face swipe by Nurkic, and that was met with a Marshall punch that grazed Nurkic on the neck.

Mavericks forward P.J. Washington then shoved Nurkic away and to the ground. All three players were ejected.

Nurkic and Naji Marshall get into a scuffle! pic.twitter.com/axKepcupWY

— Cage (@ridiculouscage) December 28, 2024

Nurkic did not speak postgame, while the players in the vicinity didn’t have any additional context to offer. Marshall, known for taking pride in bringing toughness to a team, embraced that by updating his banner photo on social media to of when he threw the punch.

Even with all that spice in the recipe, the closest thing the Suns have to a rivalry — Booker and Luka Doncic (left calf strain) — was not present with both nursing injuries.

That’s a bit wild of a statement considering the history and friendship that Durant and Irving have, which carry enough star power on their own. Both displayed terrific shot-making in the opening stages before the game got out of hand enough to rob of us of the latest duel between two of the best to ever do it in that category of the game.

Dallas (20-11) entered the night 6-2 without Doncic, a strong record you would assume is due to extra heavy lifting from Irving and Klay Thompson. But in those eight games, Irving is shooting 40% from the field and Thompson’s at 37%.

Even with the ejections and without Dereck Lively II (left hip contusion), the Mavericks got enough from Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points), Daniel Gafford (16) and Maxi Kleber (15). Being a great defensive team can clean up a whole lot more than being a great offensive team can.

Irving shot 6-of-21 for 20 points and was 1-of-11 on his 2s, all of which came on a night when he made his first four shots. For a player with otherworldly touch, it was not surprising to see that 9% on 2s is the lowest in his career when he has taken at least 10 of ’em in a game, per Stathead.

“That’s the game that we can ask for,” Durant said. “That’s the last time he’ll do something like that.”

Booker remains out for Saturday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors as well, putting his total of games missed at five. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said Booker has a bit to go with his rehab, not going as far as a timeline designation after Phoenix initially ruled him out for the first two games following his injury on Dec. 20. The only semi-reliable indicator of when a player is getting close is when they are doing their pregame individual work, and Booker wasn’t out there in his usual time slot on Friday.

Grayson Allen (concussion protocol) didn’t play for the third straight game. Budenholzer described Allen’s status as close.

Follow @KellanOlson