PHOENIX Suns moved closer to a play-in tournament spot after scoring a 125-116 victory over Dallas Mavericks in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season on Sunday night (Monday morning in the Philippines) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Devin Booker spearheaded the offense with 24 points, while Kevin Durant had a near triple-double numbers of 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Suns (30-34), which closed the gap on 10th-ranked Dallas in the West by moving within 1 1/2 games.
Bradley Beal contributed 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 off the bench, Nick Richards fell a rebound short of a double-double with his 14-point, nine-rebound outing, and Mason Plumlee contributed 13 markers.
After falling behind 11-17 early, the Suns turned things around behind Durant and Beal to take a 43-28 advantage before it was cut to 54-60 by the Mavericks on a late surge by Naji Marshall.
The Suns started strong in the third period with Booker unloading seven early points for a 97-86 advantage before the lead increased to 16 points at 118-102 in the final quarter.
Marshall finished with a career-high of 34 points, Klay Thompson added 26 points for the Mavericks, which suffered their fifth successive loss to drop to a 32-33 record.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unloaded 40 points to lead Oklahoma City Thunder to their seventh consecutive victory, a 127-103 domination over Denver Nuggets at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Jalen Williams added 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, Chet Holmgren contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, while Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and 11 boards as the Thunder moved up to 53-11.
The West-leading Thunder have won 16 of their last 18 and snapped the Nuggets’ two-game winning streak.
Nikola Jokic, coming off an historic 31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists game against the Suns last Saturday, tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, along with three blocks to lead the 41-23 Nuggets.
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Christian Braun added 19 points and Jamal Murray scored 17 points, making just one of his five three-point attempts./PN
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 125 — Booker 24, Durant 21, Beal 19, Allen 17, Richards 14, Plumlee 13, Bol 6, O’Neale 6, Gillespie 3, Jones 2, Dunn 0.
DALLAS 116 — Marshall 34, Thompson 26, Williams 13, Christie 12, Exum 12, Edwards 10, Dinwiddie 4, Martin 3, Powell 2.
Quarterscores: 32-24, 60-54, 97-86, 125-116.
