The Dallas Mavericks maintained their stranglehold on the fourth seed in the Western Conference by defeating the Phoenix Suns on the road Friday night, 98-89. Kyrie Irving led a balanced scoring effort for Dallas, scoring 20. Kevin Durant poured in 35 in defeat for the Suns.

With Dallas missing not only Luka Doncic but Dereck Lively, one might’ve expected a lackluster start from the Mavericks. Instead, the threes reigned early, led by three straight from Kyrie Irving, to give Dallas a 14-4 early advantage. Following a Suns timeout, the Mavericks lost focus and allowed Phoenix to get right back in the game. It remained a back-and-forth affair the rest of the quarter, with Kevin Durant sinking tough shots and Dallas finding ways to score. After one quarter, Dallas led 28-25.

The bench unit from Dallas managed to defend well and hit shots in the second quarter and slowly grew the lead back to double digits. Elite role player production from Maxi Kleber (who dunked!), Naji Marshall, and even some work from Dwight Powell kept the pressure on Phoenix. Irving picked up his third foul on a kickout, but head coach Jason Kidd elected to keep him in the contest. Dallas played lockdown defense in the frame and walked into halftime with a 55-39 lead.

Dallas kept the pressure on in the third, holding the double-digit lead. The intense defense got under the skin of Jusif Nurkic, who committed an offensive foul which drew the ire of Naji Marshall. The ensuing kerfuffle escalated to the point where Nurkic, Marshall, and PJ Washington got kicked out. The Mavericks struggled offensively in the quarter, making only four field goals. The Suns weren’t much better and Dallas maintained the large lead until the final minutes when Durant free throws brought the lead back to single digits. Dallas took a 72-64 lead into the final frame.

Klay Thompson got the party started for Dallas in the fourth hitting a pair of distance shots (one was later ruled to be a two pointer) that pulled the momentum back to the Mavericks. The squads exchanged baskets only for the Mavericks to hit more threes than twos and inch back to a 15 point lead. The Suns wouldn’t go quietly, culling the lead back to eight only for a Daniel Gafford dunk via Maxi Kleber to give Dallas enough of a cushion to ride out the game. Dallas took one in Phoenix, 98-89.

Now, some thoughts.

Welcome back, Maxi Kleber

Look guys, Maxi scored 33 points this season prior to his 15-point outburst against the Suns. And with Luka and Lively out and Marshall and Washington ejected, Kleber remembering that he is, in fact, a professional basketball player capable of doing more than some help defense really helped the Mavericks in this game.

Do we expect this kind of game out of Maxi again? He had five double-digit scoring efforts last season in 43 games and this was his first since May, so I think it’s possible he helps out more during the upcoming stretch for the Mavericks. Really, what we should hope for is for Kleber to look confident and play as such. He’s been a shell at times the last two years, his body having suffered some weird injuries. But he’s still a useful player! Here’s hoping it continues.

Find a way to get Kyrie some more rest, please

Kyrie started an incredible 4-of-4 from three. He proceeded to shoot 2 for his next 17, including a ridiculous 1-of-11 from two-point range. The man just couldn’t buy a basket. Of course, it’s fair to think Irving was tired. He gutted out 37 minutes against the Wolves in a loss just two days ago, then Kidd played him for most of the second half (Irving finished with 40 minutes tonight) in large part because he had no one left.

Still, though, if Dallas is to survive (and maybe thrive?) without Doncic these next however many games, it’s important that the other Dallas start doesn’t burn out.

Thoughts on a fight

Just kidding, I’m not that stupid. Well, maybe I am. Marshall sticking up for Gafford was pleasing to see. Marshall punching Nurkic’s clown face was even more pleasing. PJ Washington issuing the shove of Nurk, which ended the fight and might have saved us from actual fisticuffs, was delightful. Love to see players compete and for things to spill over sometimes.

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