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 The Suns limited the Dallas Mavericks to two field goals in the last
7:13 of a 98-92 victory at US Airways Center on Sunday while
finishing the game on an 18-6 run.
"I think our guys realize that we lost some great scorers in Goran
and Isaiah," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We're not going to have
that same type of scoring. We want to push the ball, but now there's
probably more reliance on the defense. We have some size in there to
play some defense."
Guard Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points and handed out nine assists, and
forward Markieff Morris added 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Suns
(38-33) won their fourth straight to move within 2 1/2 games of
eighth place in the Western Conference.
Morris' 18-foot jumper from the left baseline over 7-foot-1 center
Tyson Chandler with two seconds remaining on the shot clock gave the
Suns a 94-89 lead with 29.9 seconds left. Bledsoe made four free
throws in the final 20.5 seconds.
Phoenix's P.J. Tucker finished with 15 points, 13 in the first
quarter. Normally a small forward, Tucker, 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds,
moved to off guard when Brandon Knight sustained an ankle injury
against the Golden State Warriors on March 9, with 6-9 Marcus Morris
entering the lineup at small forward.
"We got length," Markieff Morris said. "We're big with P.J. on the
two guard. He is laying on them all game, beating them up all game."
Guard Monta Ellis, Dallas' leading scorer at 19.1 points a game,
managed just 11 on 4-of-22 shooting while being covered principally
by Tucker. The Mavericks (44-27) shot 38.5 percent from the field,
while the Suns hit 51.3 percent of their field-goal attempts.
The Suns have limited their past six opponents to 91.3 points a game
and won five times in that span. Only three of their past nine
opponents shot better than 44 percent from the field.
"The flow is unbelievable," Tucker said. "It's probably the best it
has been all year. Our defense has picked up a lot, especially the
way we've been able to get stops at the end and finish games off.
Marcus Morris had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Phoenix center Alex Len
had 10 points. The Suns had a 49-40 rebounding advantage.
Forward Chandler Parsons had 19 points and former Phoenix forward
Amar'e Stoudemire added 16 points for the Mavs, who lost their
second in a row after a three-game winning streak.
Dallas trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before
using a 30-7 run to take a six-point lead midway through the fourth.
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"In the first half, we were a no-show as a team -- coaches, players,
everybody," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was an
embarrassment. Second half, we got angry and we played a hell of a
lot harder."
Parsons hit an 18-footer to give Dallas an 86-80 lead with just over
seven minutes left, but the Mavs made only two field goals the rest
of the way. They also missed three free throws at 86-80, one by
Ellis and two by Parsons.
Reserve guard Archie Goodwin scored on a layup to cap a 7-0 run to
give the Suns an 87-86 lead, and he hit a 3-pointer from the left
wing for a 91-88 lead with two minutes remaining. Goodwin has 10
3-pointers this season.
The Suns are one-half game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans (37-33)
for ninth place in the Western Conference, with both teams chasing
Oklahoma City (40-30) for the final playoff spot in the West. The
Suns have one game remaining against the Thunder and three games
remaining against teams that are not currently in playoff position.
"No question there is enough time," Markieff Morris said. "There is
always enough time."
NOTES: Dallas G Devin Harris played eight minutes in the first half
but did not play again because of an illness, according to the
Mavericks. ... Dallas G J. J. Barea did not play Sunday after
spraining his left ankle in practice Saturday. ... Suns G Brandon
Knight (left ankle) missed his sixth straight game. He is expected
to return Wednesday ... Suns G Marcus Thornton (big toe) did not
play. ... Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said he sent a text message to
former Suns and Mavericks point guard Steve Nash, who announced his
retirement over the weekend. "Just telling him I've been a long-time
admirer of his, both from afar and as someone competing against
him," Carlisle said of the two-time NBA MVP.
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