TEXAS – Kevin Durant delivered in the endgame to steer Phoenix Suns to a close 130-126 victory over Dallas Mavericks in the 2022-2023 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
With the score tied at 126-all after a basket by Mavericks’ Dwight Powell, Durant attacked the defense of Dallas’ Tim Hardaway Jr. before pulling up for a jumper to give the Suns a 128-126 lead with 11 seconds left.
After a Luka Doncic miss on a potential game-tying basket, Durant secured the victory for the visiting Suns with two free throws with three seconds remaining in the tightly-contested match.
Durant top-scored with 37 points, including three outside conversions, to go with seven rebounds and three assists as the Suns notched its third straight win to move up to 36-29 in the standings.
Devin Booker added double-double 36 points and 10 assists, Ish Wainright and Chris Paul chipped in 12 and 11, respectively, while Deandre Ayton hauled 16 rebounds to go with his nine markers for Phoenix.
Doncic led the way with 34 points and nine rebounds, Kyrie Irving contributed 30 markers, while Hardaway chipped in 21 points as the Mavericks dropped to 33-32 in the standings with the loss.
Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges had a perfect opening quarter as Brooklyn Nets (36-28) surged to its second straight victory by beating Charlotte Hornets (20-46), 102-86, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Bridges, who was traded by the Suns to the Nets for Durant last month, converted all his nine shot attempts in the first quarter for 19 points as the Nets jumped to a 36-21 advantage over the slumping Hornets.
Charlotte showed some life in the fourth quarter as they turned a 30-point deficit to a 14-point game but timely conversions from Spencer Dinwiddie and free throws by Bridges secured the win for Brooklyn.
Bridges finished with 33 points and eight rebounds, Dinwiddie and Joe Harris had 24 and 12 markers, respectively, while Cameron Johnson had double-double 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets./PN
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 130 — Durant 37, Booker 36, Wainright 12, Paul 11, Okogie 9, Ayton 9, Payne 6, Craig 5, D. Lee 3, Landale 2, Ross 0, Warren 0.
DALLAS 126 — Doncic 34, Irving 30, Hardaway 21, Wood 17, Bullock 10, Holiday 5, Powell 4, Morris 3, Ntilikina 2, Green 0.
Quarterscores: 31-25, 59-62, 96-95, 130-126.
