Jusuf Nurkic makes free throw with 0.8 seconds left to lift Suns past Mavs, 114-113

DALLAS (AP) — Jusuf Nurkic made the second of two free throws with 0.8 seconds left after being fouled on an offensive rebound, lifting the Phoenix Suns to a 114-113 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Nurkic had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Suns improved to 8-1 for the first time since 2009-10. Two of the wins have been over defending Western Conference champion Dallas.

Nurkic had put the Suns ahead with 31 seconds left with a dunk on a putback from a Durant miss. Daniel Gafford evened Dallas at 113 on an alley-oop dunk from Luka Doncic, who had 30 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Royce O’Neale missed a runner in the final seconds, but Nurkic grabbed the rebound and was bumped by several Dallas defenders on a missed shot as the buzzer sounded. Gafford made a foul on the play.

Doncic missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

O’Neale scored 18 points for Phoenix and Devin Booker had 13 points and 12 assists.

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and Naji Marshall had 18 for Dallas.

Takeaways

Suns: O’Neale was a big boost off the bench, with the Phoenix reserves outscoring the Dallas bench 28-18 with their reserves after a 23-9 edge in the first meeting.

Mavericks: Gafford’s foul trouble came with his frontcourt partner Dereck Lively II out with a sprained shoulder. Dwight Powell was forced to play a season-high 25 minutes and had five fouls.

Key moment

Nurkic’s crucial rebound came after the only miss from O’Neale, who was 7 of 8.

Key state

Phoenix didn’t have a huge advantage in offensive rebounds at 11-8, but had several big ones in the second half, capped by a goal from Nurkic.

Next

The Suns are at home against Sacramento on Sunday. The Mavericks are in Denver on Sunday night.

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