Devin Booker scored 24 points as the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the severely underhanded Dallas Mavericks 125-116 on Sunday.
Kevin Durant posted 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Bradley Beal contributed 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 off the bench as 11th-placed Phoenix closed the gap on 10th-ranked Dallas in the West by moving within 1 1/2 games.
Naji Marshall scored 34 points, moving past his previous career-best haul of 29 set two nights earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Klay Thompson had 26 points for the Mavericks, who suffered their fifth successive loss and saw their injury crisis deepen with starter Brandon Williams (hamstring) and Dwight Powell (head) both sitting out the fourth quarter.
Dallas started the game with nine available players, three of whom were on minute restrictions, before finishing with seven fit players.
The Mavericks started well, though, forcing early turnovers to jump ahead 17-11.
The Suns recovered to square the score at 24 before attacking the smaller Mavericks in the paint to score the last eight points of the first period, lead the rebounding battle 15-6 and hold sway 32-24.
Phoenix’s lead grew to 43-28 before Marshall’s 13-point second quarter without a miss sliced the visitors’ cushion to 60-54 at halftime.
Booker scored the first seven points of the third frame, which the Suns started by hitting 12 of their first 13 shots.
But Dallas wouldn’t go away. Marshall added 14 more for the quarter, scaling Phoenix’s advantage back to 97-86 entering the fourth frame.
With 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Powell and Kessler Edwards accidentally collided heads under the Suns’ basket.
Both men went into the locker room to be attended to, before Edwards checked back in with 6:05 remaining in regulation, sporting a bandage over his left eye.
Powell joined Williams on the sideline for the whole fourth quarter.
Undermanned Dallas showed grit to close the margin to eight points before Booker piloted an 8-0 burst to see the Suns pull away 118-102.
–Field Level Media
