National Basketball Association
Phoenix 130, Dallas 126
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 5, 2023
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #74 Curtis Blair, #21 Dedric Taylor, #42 Eric Lewis
Attendance: 20311

Kevin Durant scored two of his game-high 37 points on a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 12.1 seconds remaining, and the Phoenix Suns secured their third straight win in a 130-126 defeat of the host Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

After the jumper, Durant grabbed his seventh rebound of the afternoon when Luka Doncic missed a would-be game-tying shot attempt with six seconds remaining. Durant's subsequent foul shots put the win away for Phoenix, which closed out a four-game road swing at 3-1 -- and a perfect 3-0 since Durant joined the lineup.

Acquired in a trade from Brooklyn last month, Durant's debut was delayed until Wednesday due to an MCL sprain. Sunday marked the former Most Valuable Player's highest-scoring performance since joining the Suns lineup.

He combined with Devin Booker to score more than half of Phoenix's points on Sunday with 73. Booker recorded 36 points in his third consecutive outing with at least 35. Booker also dished 10 assists to complete a double-double.

Chris Paul added 11 points, passed for seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. Josh Okogie and Deandre Ayton each scored nine points, while Ayton snared a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Suns rallied from down six points with 6:51 remaining, when Durant's former Brooklyn teammate, Kyrie Irving, sank a 3-pointer for part of his 30-point effort.

One game after setting a franchise record as the first Mavericks teammates to reach 40 points or more in the same contest, Irving and Doncic combined for 64 points on Sunday. Doncic finished with a team-high 34 points to go with his team-leading nine rebounds, but he shot just 1-of-9 from 3-point range -- including a last-ditch effort attempt after Durant's made foul shots in the waning seconds.

Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to score 21 points and shot 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Christian Wood scored 17 points and Reggie Bullock added 10 for Dallas.

Phoenix finished 49-for-89 from the field (55.1 percent) and won the rebounding battle 41-31. Ish Wainwright chipped in 12 points off the bench.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Phoenix   Dallas
Kevin Durant 37 Scoring Luka Doncic 34
Devin Booker 10 Assists Kyrie Irving 7
Deandre Ayton 16 Rebounds Luka Doncic 9
Kevin Durant 10 Free Throws Made Luka Doncic 17
Josh Okogie 2 Steals Reggie Bullock 2
Deandre Ayton 1 Blocks N/A
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Phoenix 130 55.1 12-34 20-25 27 41 2 5 9
Dallas 126 49.4 15-38 35-38 15 31 0 5 10
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game at home against Utah. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .441 after a win and .581 after a loss.
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Suns have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .533 after a loss.