Dallas Mavericks Continue To Fall, Lose 102-88 In Phoenix

The Dallas Mavericks failed to end their losing skid Wednesday. The Phoenix Suns shot lights out en route to a 102-88 victory.

The Dallas Mavericks had one of their worst shooting performances of the season, dropping a fifth straight game at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. The Suns used a hot shooting night to power past the Mavericks 102-88.

In their previous meeting on December 18, Phoenix walked away with a 97-91 victory. The two will meet again in April as they close out the 2017-18 season.

Losers of its last five, Dallas now sits at a record of 16-36 and is dead last in the Western Conference. This loss brings the Mavs to 6-18 on the road and 5-11 against sub-.500 teams.

Breakdown

Phoenix came out blazing, as made evident by its 7-10 shooting from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Dallas was abysmal, shooting 29 percent from the field for the quarter. By the end of the period, the Mavericks were looking up at a 36-17 deficit.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, the fast start was overshadowed by a gruesome left ankle injury suffered by Isaiah Canaan.

Dirk Nowitzki got things rolling in the second quarter, scoring nine points and bringing Dallas within a 44-36 deficit. The momentum was stifled by careless turnovers and continued hot shooting by Phoenix. Phoenix took a 57-46 into halftime.

The second half, much like the first, consisted of poor shooting from Dallas. In fact, their lowest-scoring quarter came in the third when they only managed 15.

A Dennis Smith Jr. three-pointer made things interesting late in the fourth, bringing Dallas to within 91-84. That was where the comeback withered away.

Mavericks

Smith Jr. led Dallas with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Harrison Barnes put together 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Dirk Nowitzki had a great shooting performance, scoring 14 points (5-8 FG%, 3-5 3P%) to go along with 10 rebounds. In his 20th season, he is shooting a career-best 42 percent from behind the arc.

Wes Matthews (6) struggled with his shot all night, finishing with points on shooting. However, he contributed 5 steals and a block.

Suns

Josh Jackson scored a game-high 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds

TJ Warren added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. This was his fourth straight 20-point game.

Marquese Chriss was impressive, combining 15 points with 12 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Next: The Mavericks Way: Loyalty, Respect, and Integrity

Next up

The Mavericks will have a few days to regroup, before starting a three-game road trip beginning Saturday against Sacramento. The Kings won the previous meeting this season, 93-88. Game time is at 10 p.m. ET.

As always, Go Mavs!