Phoenix Suns Show Resilience In Victory Over Mavericks

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns moved to 8-1 on the season after another clutch win over the Dallas Mavericks tonight.

The Suns battled through ineffective scoring nights from Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who ended up contributing in other ways, such as playmaking.

Royce O’Neale almost couldn’t miss – scoring 18 points while once again playing the lockdown defense that has become the norm for the second-year Sun this season, earning a team-best +14 in his 29 minutes on the floor. Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic and Tyus Jones all made timely baskets from all three levels — but all three made their mark from behind the arc without a doubt.

Most of all, the cohesion and collective resilience of this team was spot on. Josh Okogie – making his first appearance of the season in place of Ryan Dunn – even managed to make a distinct impact.

The offense continues to flow better with consistent movement, an emphasis on boundary ball movement not unlike Gregg Popovich coached teams, and obvious intent/strategy. That was especially true tonight – when the Suns scored 115 against the current #3 defense in the league, with 2 of the top 3 players on the team struggling.

They weathered the storm from Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic – Irving especially taking over late in the game with a flurry of baskets. That was perhaps the most impressive part after losing Dunn to the match as previously mentioned. It continues to be a testament to the toughness of ranks 1-14.

This team is connected. This team is deep. This team fights on every possession. This team has several pieces equipped to take over a given game. This is a team that could go on to extend what is the second-longest hitting streak in the league significantly longer.

The Suns will look to extend their streak Sunday night when they welcome the Sacramento Kings to town as Mike Budenholzer continues to build a coach of the year case and Durant continues to creep into the most valuable player discussions.