Phoenix Suns beat Dallas Mavericks in home opener

PHOENIX — After blowing a 20-point lead in their Friday night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns needed a big comeback in their home opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

They did just that.

The Suns improved to 2-1 on the season with a 114-102 victory over Dallas, winning their third straight home opener. Phoenix has won its last 21 of 28 meetings against the Mavericks.

Without Bradley Beal (elbow) and Grayson Allen (personal), the Suns were forced to alter their rotations against a fairly healthy Dallas team.

Rookie Ryan Dunn made his first NBA start, while Royce O’Neale and Damion Lee saw an increase in minutes.

It was a much-needed victory for Phoenix to emerge beyond .500, getting off on the right foot to begin a brief two-game home season.

The Suns took a 28-26 lead after the first quarter despite Luka Doncic’s early 13 points. No other player on either team had more than six. Dallas converted on just 2-11 attempts from three-point territory.

Phoenix increased its lead to as many as 13 points in the second quarter with Jusuf Nurkic scoring 12 points in the period. Durant was not far behind with nine in the second.

The Suns shot 43% from deep in the first half and made nearly 48% of their field goals to take the lead.

The third quarter turned out to be the same story for Phoenix (three Suns in Dunn, Durant and Booker scored 5+ points), and so was the fourth quarter when the Suns established a 104-90 lead with just under seven minutes left. play.

Despite a handful of 3-pointers from Thompson and Doncic late to keep things interesting, the Suns were able to maintain their lead until the end.

– Kevin Durant: 31 points, nine rebounds
– Jusuf Nurkic: 18 points, 14 rebounds
– Ryan Dunn: 13 points
– Devin Booker: 21 points, five assists

– Kyrie Irving: 22 points, five assists
– Luka Doncic: 40 points, 10 rebounds
– Klay Thompson: 19 points

The Suns return home on Monday to face the Los Angeles Lakers.

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