A lot of good and a lot of bad in the Phoenix Suns’ 112-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks to close out their 41-game regular-season home schedule.
The bad? The Suns built an 18-point lead in the third quarter, only to see a patchwork group of Mavericks go on an 18-1 run over a 5:09 span to get to within one.
Yes, the Suns responded and were able to get the lead back up to 11 before the end of the quarter. Generally speaking, lately (and by lately, I mean the last couple months) the Suns have let too many mediocre to bad teams hang around.
Also on the bad side: Jalen Green and Jordan Goodwin both left with injuries and didn’t return in the second half. The idea of full health for this team has been a pipe dream all season, and now, heading into the NBA Play-In Tournament, injuries are a loud question once again.
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The good? Khaman Maluach got his first start as an NBA player and cleaned up on the glass, grabbing 14 rebounds — the third-highest total for any Suns player in a single game this season. His spectacular blocked shot on former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg with 6:45 to go led to a fast-break bucket and stretched the Suns’ lead to 3. It was encouraging to see a rookie who has looked very much like an inexperienced 19-year-old for much of the season step up and make winning plays in big spots.
Collin Gillespie looked aggressive again offensively, most notably in about a 70-second stretch of the third quarter when he scored three buckets. I’m not sure the Suns beat the Mavs without his outburst.
Devin Booker played one of his better games of the season, Dillon Brooks played his best game since his return from injury and the Suns did a nice job on Flagg, holding him to 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting. The Rookie of the Year candidate, who has had games of 51 and 45 points this month, had his lowest point total since mid-January.
The Suns will host the 7-8 play-in game next week. They don’t know the opponent just yet, but that’s nearly immaterial. This is a team that needs to look within and find the spark and spunk that made them one of the league’s more fun watches in the season’s first few months. The question is, can they find it between now and Tuesday night?
Vince Marotta has been the Phoenix Suns’ PA announcer since 2016 in addition to his duties as co-host of Bickley & Marotta. On weekdays after Suns home games, you can listen to Vinny’s View on Arizona Sports 98.7 at 7 a.m. or read what he saw from the front row at Mortgage Matchup Center here.
Follow @Vincemarotta
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