The Dallas Mavericks overcame the absence of Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II to defeat the Phoenix Suns in a back-to-back opener on Friday night. Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with a strong scoring performance.
The Dallas Mavericks played the Phoenix Suns on the first night of a road back-to-back on Friday night, playing without Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II. They were looking to bounce back from their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas Day, while the Suns won their Christmas matchup against the Denver Nuggets. Without two starters, Dallas started Kyrie Irving , Klay Thompson, P.J.
Washington, Naji Marshall, and Daniel Gafford, while Phoenix went with Tyus Jones, Bradley Beal, Ryan Dunn, Kevin Durant, and Jusuf Nurkic. Devin Booker and Grayson Allen weren't playing for the Suns on Friday night. It was a hot start for the Mavericks, as they ran out to an 11-2 advantage behind two three-pointers from Kyrie Irving, who will be asked to carry the load offensively on most nights. After a bucket by Kevin Durant, Daniel Gafford snagged an offensive rebound and kicked out to Irving in the corner, who knocked in his third triple of the early period to go up 14-4 just over three minutes into the game. That forced a timeout from Mike Budenholzer. Phoenix came out of that timeout with a quick 8-0 run, fueled by five points from Bradley Beal and killed by who other than Kyrie Irving, who hit a contested triple from the corner over Ryan Dunn. After some traded baskets, the Mavericks would lead by as much as eight again, with some help from Spencer Dinwiddie off the bench, and would head into the second quarter up 28-25. Dallas held the Suns scoreless for the first few minutes of the second quarter, allowing them to take an 11-point lead. Phoenix's offense woke up after that, but they could fight the lead down to seven before Dallas built it back up to double digits, using a technical free throw from Irving to cap it off, then a Quentin Grimes three in the corner got it up to 13. Keeping Phoenix in the game was their ability to get second-chance point
NBA Dallas Mavericks Phoenix Suns Kyrie Irving Back-To-Back
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