Game Preview: Suns aim to make it 7 straight against the Mavs

Who: Phoenix Suns (7-1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (5-3)

When: 5:30 pm Arizona Time

Where: American Airlines Center — Dallas, Texas

Watch: ESPN, Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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The Phoenix Suns are aiming for their 7th straight win. What a time to be alive.

They haven’t made it easy on themselves, with several come-from-behind wins and heroic efforts from their stars in crunch time to close games out. Their 6-0 record in “clutch” time this season shows that they are everything last year’s Suns weren’t in these moments. The early battle tests should only benefit them in the long run as they continue to build chemistry.

Kevin Durant said: “We’ve been in a lot of close games. I’m sure Suns fans on edge every game, but I think it’s good for our team that we can these 4th quarter games and get an understanding for what it’s like in crunch time.”

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

They face a strong Dallas team in a tough environment at American Airlines Center. The Mavs won their last game against Chicago, led by a 27-point, 13-assist outing from their superstar Luka Doncic.

Phoenix defeated this same Mavericks team earlier this season at the Footprint Center, 114-102. Durant had 31 in the victory. Doncic had 40 points despite the loss, and his backcourt mates Kyrie Irving (22) and Klay Thompson (19) combined for 41 points.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Bradley Beal — PROBABLE (Right Elbow Soreness)
• Ryan Dunn — DOUBTFUL (Ankle)

Mavs

• Dereck Lively II — OUT (Shoulder)
• Maxi Kleber — OUT (Hamstring)
• PJ Washington — OUT (Knee)
• Dante Exum — OUT (Wrist)

Uniform Matchup

What to Watch For

The Big 3 Battle

Dallas has their own “Big 3” with Kyrie, Klay and Luka. In their last meeting against the Suns, that trio combined for 81 points and drilled 12 threes. The rest of the Mavericks combined for just 21 points on 9 of 30 shooting (30%). For those tracking at home, that is *checks notes* not good! Well, for the Suns it is. Let’s hope that happens again.

Phoenix meanwhile was down Bradley Beal and had six players score 8 or more points, including 31 from Kevin Durant. Ryan Dunn gave them some excellent minutes that night, chipping in with 13 points starting in place of Beal.

With Beal listed as probable, they will need him to step up, especially on the defensive end where he has made great strides this season. Also, I am here for the Book vs. Klay battle. Those are always fun.

Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images

“The Others”

Dallas will be down a few key pieces in Dante Exum, Dereck Lively II, Maxi Kleber, and PJ Washington. The Suns will not have rookie Ryan Dunn, which is a tough blow for a team that struggles to disrupt Luka Doncic.

Phoenix should stick with the same game plan of inviting the role players to beat them. Dallas had 22 assists to Phoenix’s 26 and were caught in iso-ball several times which stalled momentum.

Phoenix’s role players will need to step up on the road, plain and simple. I believe the stars will be stars on each side, but the game will be decided by which team’s trio gets the most help, especially from the three-point line and the defensive side of the ball. Who will make some plays?

Nurkic vs. Gafford

Jusuf Nurkic had his now second-best game of the young season (after his last outing) against the Mavs, posting 18 points, 14 rebounds, and one block in 30 minutes on 7 of 12 shooting. He will look to build off a strong game and increased confidence against a team he played well against already this season.

Photo by Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images

Gafford only saw 18 minutes and Lively got 21 minutes as they looked for answers to slow down Nurkic and the Suns in the interior. With Lively out tonight, this will be a matchup to watch. Dallas doesn’t have a ton of bigs to throw down low, especially with Kleber, Washington, and Lively all out.

Phoenix didn’t necessarily play an amazing game in their last meeting, but they were solid across all four quarters and did enough to build their lead quarter by quarter heading into the 4th. Let’s hope they do that again.

Prediction

The good times keep rolling and the Suns take down Dallas in a hard-fought slugfest. I predict this one to be a high-scoring affair.

Phoenix 123, Dallas 120

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images