Doncic drops 28 for Mavs, but Booker's Suns finish unbeaten roadswing / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports Credit Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Devin Booker recorded 28 points and six assists and Chris Paul added 20 points and 11 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns (35-9) to a 109-101 (22-26, 23-27, 29-29, 35-19) victory over the host Dallas Mavericks (26-20) on Thursday night.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Chris Paul Points 20 Accuracy 8-14 Rebounds 5 Assists 11

Jae Crowder tallied 13 points as Phoenix completed an unbeaten five-game road trip and won for the eighth time in its last nine overall games. Mikal Bridges contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals as the Suns beat Dallas for the ninth straight time and 16th in the past 19 meetings.

Luka Doncic registered 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Mavericks, who had a four-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in the past 12 games.

Jalen Brunson scored 19 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 11 points for Dallas.

Phoenix big man Deandre Ayton (ankle) missed his second straight game.

Cameron Payne also scored 12 points for the Suns, who shot 45.3 percent from the field and made 8 of 36 from 3-point range. It marked the 23rd straight game in which Dallas held the opposing team below 50 percent.

The Mavericks connected on 43.5 percent of their shots, including 11 of 37 from behind the arc.

Bridges connected on a short floater to break a tie and give the Suns a 101-99 lead with 2:56 remaining.

Bismack Biyombo split two free throws 31 seconds later and then scored on a dunk with 1:49 remaining to give Phoenix a 104-99 lead. Paul drained a 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds left to cap a 20-4 spurt and the Suns closed it out.

A dunk by Porzingis gave Dallas a 57-45 lead early in the second half, but the Suns whittled away at their deficit and moved ahead at 69-68 on Booker's basket with 4:55 left in the third quarter.

Phoenix Suns / Schedule

Indiana Pacers Phoenix Suns94-112 Detroit Pistons Phoenix Suns108-135 San Antonio Spurs Phoenix Suns107-121 Dallas Mavericks Phoenix Suns101-109 Phoenix Suns Indiana PacersSun02:00 Phoenix Suns Utah JazzTue02:00 Utah Jazz Phoenix SunsThu03:00

But the Mavericks later put together a quarter-ending 11-2 surge to take an 82-74 advantage into the final stanza.

Dallas led 95-87 after Hardaway's 3-pointer with 7:01 remaining before the Suns went on the decisive 20-4 burst. It started with nine straight points as Phoenix took a one-point lead with 4:53 remaining.

Doncic's basket knotted the score at 99 with 3:10 remaining.

Doncic had 19 points as the Mavericks held a 53-45 lead at the break. Booker scored 16 in the half.

The margin was three in the final seconds before Doncic scored on a short jumper with 2.6 seconds left, intercepted Crowder's in-bounds pass, and drained a 3-pointer as time expired to account for the eight-point halftime lead.

Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic 28 (9/23 fg, 8/11 ft, 8 REB, 8 AST, 8 TO), Jalen Brunson 19 (8/13 FG, 2/2 FT, 5 REB), Kristaps Porzingis 18 (7/15 FG, 2/2 FT, 11 REB,), Tim Hardaway 11 (4/10 FG, 5 REB).

Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker 28 (11/25 FG, 5/5 FT, 5 REB, 6 AST), Chris Paul 20 (8/14 FG, 2/2 FT, 5 REB, 11 AST), Jae Crowder 13 (4/9 FG), Cameron Payne 12, Mikal Bridges 12 (5/11 FG, 2/2 FT, 8 REB, 6 AST, 4 ST).

Full game highlights:

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