Dallas, TX
Brief lapses doom Phoenix Suns in loss to Dallas Mavericks
The Phoenix Suns played well enough in spurts to win on Thursday but lacked a full and focused effort to beat the Dallas Mavericks in a 123-113 loss.
Dallas’ star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving bested Phoenix’s. Doncic’s 41 points on 14-of-27 shooting were accompanied by Irving’s 11-of-18 shooting for 29 points. Doncic also racked up nine rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. Devin Booker’s 35 points (13-for-21), five rebounds, eight assists and four turnovers led the Suns while Kevin Durant’s 9-of-23 mark for 23 points with five rebounds, an assist and five turnovers missed the mark.
The Mavericks’ 29 points off 16 Suns turnovers were a factor as well.
Three surges by Dallas in the last two quarters that were more so poor stretches by Phoenix decided the game.
A 15-0 Mavericks run to begin the second half epitomized the margins Phoenix has to improve within to truly become a great team. Doncic nailed three of his six triples on unguardable step-backs. He set up P.J. Washington, a below average shooter, for another. All of those are possessions the Suns can accept but they’ve got to make up for it in other ways, and the offensive end included a pair of turnovers and a missed layup.
After that, Doncic launched a 30-footer early on the shot clock as a heat check, a bailout for Phoenix to reset, only for the Suns to not grab the rebound and for that to lead to an open Josh Green 3 to put Dallas ahead by a dozen.
With those three minutes not going great for starting center Jusuf Nurkic, Suns head coach Frank Vogel smashed the emergency glass early, pulling Nurkic for Royce O’Neale. It’s the type of mid-game adjustment and rotation choice the Suns should focus on developing more over the next two months so it becomes more natural. Decisions like Thursday’s will help.
Dallas is the perfect team to do this against. It has size but not the type that will punish a smaller team, doesn’t have the good shooters Phoenix does to trade open 3s in spaced-out basketball built around the stars and lacks on-ball juice defensively to contain high-level scorers. The Mavericks have rightfully been thought of as a bad matchup for the Suns the last two years but if Phoenix was to really embrace small ball, it could turn the tables quickly.
All of these themes played out over an immediate 17-5 run led by Booker, who didn’t take a shot in the second quarter because of double-teams but suddenly had more space to maneuver. Dallas, however, found a 9-0 spurt right after.
Nurkic returned later in the quarter for two minutes, only for Phoenix to go back to a small group at the start of the fourth quarter and remain that way the rest of the night.
Phoenix was +7 without Booker in the first half but this group headed by Durant struggled this go-around. The offense had a few dwindling possessions, with Durant’s cadence slowing things down a bit too much. It was an 8-2 advantage to Dallas.
That’s why Bradley Beal is so important for that segment of the game but he remains out due to tightness in his left hamstring. He wasn’t able to progress enough over the All-Star break to avoid nothing more than a one-game absence (that was essentially two after he played under five minutes when he got injured). Vogel also said Beal is unlikely to play in the second game of a back-to-back on Friday.
Booker could only get 2:25 of rest before coming in thanks to just two Phoenix points over that time. With Dallas now up 11, it put the Suns in a position requiring stops. They wouldn’t muster two in a row until the 3:12 mark on the clock while trailing by 12. Too late.
Add up those Dallas runs in the second half and it was a 32-2 edge in a combined game time of just 7:03.
Eric Gordon scored 16 points starting in place of Beal. He was the only supporting cast member to make a legitimate impact. Despite how often Phoenix spent the game going small, new addition Thaddeus Young did not play, presumably because of how recent his arrival was.
Unless one of the top four teams in the Western Conference slows down and the Suns (33-23) go on an absolute tear to end the year, they are likely left fighting for two spots above the play-in amongst five different squads. That makes tiebreakers with those teams essential. Thursday’s cemented a 3-2 season series edge to Dallas (33-23).
As for the four others, Phoenix has already lost the tiebreaker to the Los Angeles Lakers (1-3) and owns it over the Golden State Warriors (3-1). Still left to be determined is a winner-take-all fixture with the Sacramento Kings (2-2) similar to Thursday and two contests remaining with the New Orleans Pelicans (1-0).
Durant reached 40 minutes and it was 39 for Booker. There will be a few regular season games that still warrant minute totals that high but Phoenix has to be cautious with the start of the postseason now visible in the distance. It plays tomorrow in Houston and it doesn’t sound like Beal will play.
Dallas weather: May 10 morning forecast
Today is by far our most active day of the extended forecast. After our Red River Counties got some severe storms overnight, we expect a mostly quiet morning. Isolated storms are expected to start forming just after noon. The severe threat begins mid-afternoon in a more scattered fashion, before a cold front ushers in widespread rain and strong storms this evening.
DALLAS – A powerful cold front sweeping across North and Central Texas on Monday is expected to trigger a wave of severe thunderstorms capable of producing large hail, dangerous winds, and isolated flash flooding.
Severe weather in North Texas
Timeline:
The National Weather Service in Fort Worth warned that while showers and storms will begin developing Monday morning, the risk of severe weather will peak during the afternoon and evening hours as the front advances southward.
We are tracking two distinct phases of the storm system. Initial storms are expected to be “discrete,” or individual cells, which carry a high risk of large hail exceeding 2 inches in diameter. As the evening progresses, these individual storms are forecast to merge into a large cluster or broken line.
Once the storms consolidate, the primary threat will shift toward damaging straight-line winds. Forecasters warned that wind gusts could exceed 70 to 75 mph, speeds capable of downing trees, damaging roofs, and causing power outages.
In addition to the wind and hail threats, the system is expected to dump significant amounts of water. While most areas will see standard rainfall, there is a 10% to 15% chance that some locations could receive up to 4 inches of rain. Isolated flash flooding can happen over these locations.
Live Radar
We are watching how morning activity near the Red River might influence the speed of the cold front. The exact position of that front will be the primary factor in determining where the most intense storms initiate.
Residents are encouraged to monitor local forecasts and have multiple ways to receive weather warnings throughout the evening.
The front is expected to push through the region by Tuesday morning.
7-Day Forecast
The Source: Information in this article is from the National Weather Service and the FOX 4 Weather team.
FC Dallas returns home tonight to host Western Conference rivals Real Salt Lake.
Lineups are in from both sides. Let’s dive into what Eric Quill’s starting group looks like, who is on the bench, and who we believe will see minutes later on in this one.
What Changed From Last Match
If it ain’t broke, right? This is the same group as last week that picked up three points in New York.
FC Dallas Lineup Notes:
Starting XI
Formation: 3-4-3
Bench
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Who should come off the bench?
I almost think you roll out the same group of subs that worked last week in New York. That would be Chris Cappis, Logan Farrington, Sebastien Ibeagha, Sam Sarver and maybe more minutes for Caleb Swann. That, or give Nicholas Simmonds a few more minutes out there.
Key Question Heading Into Kickoff
After ending a couple of streaks last week, can FC Dallas finally put together a complete performance at home?
There is no getting around it: this is a big one for FC Dallas tonight. They need to figure out how to get the most out of their home games here this week (and next) before being gone for three and a half months. If they can replicate what they did last week in New York where the defense was stout, the attack was clinical, and everything else in between came together…there is no reason why they can’t string together a couple of wins in a row here starting tonight.
Suspended: none
International duty: none
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin (knee)
Out: Anderson Julio (Lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
RSL Lineup Notes:
Formation: 5-4-1
Starting XI
How to watch
📅 Date: Saturday, May 9, 2026
⚽️ Kickoff: 7:30 PM
🏟 Venue: Toyota Stadium
📺 Streaming: MLS Season Pass
💬 Gameday Social: #FCDvRSL
☀️ Weather: 87, sunny
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FC Dallas returns home this weekend looking to build off last week’s road result as Real Salt lake comes to town for another important Western Conference matchup. With the schedule beginning to pile up before the summer World Cup break in June, grabbing points at Toyota Stadium feels more important than ever right now.
RSL arrives with one of the more balanced attacks in the conference and enough pace to punish mistakes in transition. For Dallas, this one is about staying organized defensively, controlling the midfield battle, and continuing to find consistency in the final third. If those three items can be checked off this weekend, there’s a real opportunity to keep the momentum moving in the right direction before a long summer road trip.
Let’s dive into some notes, predictions, and more.
TL;DR: Match Preview
Quick hits before kickoff.
- Score prediction: FC Dallas 2 – 1 Real Salt Lake
- Key player to watch: Petar Musa – To make the World Cup roster later this month for Croatia, Musa has to continue scoring here and guide the team to a big home win.
- Why this game matters: The next two are at home and after that there are nine straight road games. Dallas has to bank some points at home while they can before the long summer road trip.
FC Dallas Notes:
All-time vs RSL: FC Dallas holds a 24-15-13 all-time regular-season record against RSL. Dallas has scored 79 goals against Salt Lake. RSL has scored 63.
Home record vs RSL: Dallas has a solid 14-2-8 at home against RSL in regular season meetings. Dallas has scored 44 home goals against RSL. Salt Lake has scored 23 goals at Toyota Stadium versus Dallas. Dallas last won at home versus RSL on April 16, 2023. Jesús Ferreira and Bernanrd Kamungo scored for Dallas that night.
Homegrown clock: Homegrown keeper Michael Collodi was the only HGP earning minutes this season until Nolan Norris joined him on the field. Collodi has played the full 90 in each match, while Norris has been in and out of the lineup. Norris also has one goal on the season. Caleb Swann also made his debut off the bench in New York. Together, they have played 1595 minutes. To add more perspective here, Dallas HGPs only accounted for 1683 minutes in 2025.
What to Watch For: FC Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake FC Dallas returns to Toyota Stadium riding momentum from a historic road win in New York, but RSL arrives with one of the most dangerous young attacks in MLS. Here’s what to watch when the Burn host the Claret-and-Cobalt on Saturday.
Notable season stats:
- FCD is 7th in crosses in MLS with 144.
- The Burn are 6th in total distance covered in MLS with 286.24 km (800 miles).
- FCD is third in MLS in aerial challenges won with 171.
- FC Dallas is 9th in MLS in xG with 18.81.
- FCD is 8th in MLS in shot efficiency with 1.19.
- Musa is 4th in MLS in xG with 7.77. He also ranks tied for 4th in MLS in shots with 40.
Potential FC Dallas Lineup:
With another three-games in seven days stretch coming up, Eric Quill will likely go with as strong of a lineup as possible in these next two home games.
Formation: 3-4-3
Projected Starting XI
Availability & Disciplinary Report
⚽
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended with next yellow card: none
Suspended with next two yellow cards: Osaze Urhoghide, Nolan Norris
🗒️
Availability Report
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin
Out: Anderson Julio (Lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
International duty: none
Real Salt Lake Notes:
Key player for RSL: Diego Luna
Scouting Real Salt Lake: What FC Dallas Needs to Know 🔎 A detailed scouting report on RSL ahead of FC Dallas’ 2026 showdown, breaking down formations, key players, tendencies, and tactical edges.
Disciplinary Report
Suspended: none
Suspended on next yellow card: none
Availability Report
Out: Jesus Barea (knee), Emeka Eneli (knee), Ari Piol (Achilles)
Questionable: Juan Jose Arias (groin), Justen Glad (groin), Lukas Engel (hip)
International duty: none
Big game this week for FC Dallas. Before we get into it, members have the full scouting report, projected lineups, and injury report. If you want to go into Matchday actually knowing what to watch for, now’s the time.
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