Durant scores 31 points as the Suns defeat the foul-plagued Mavs 114-102

PHOENIX – Too many fouls and too many free throws from Phoenix led the Suns to beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-102 before a Saturday 17,071 spectators were a sell-out night at the Footprint Center.

In the Suns' home opener, Kevin Durant scored 30 points and Devin Booker added 21 points, helping the Mavs improve to 2-1 after losing on the road to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Mavs are now 1-1 this season and will host the Utah Jazz at American Airlines Center on Monday.

The Mavs were never able to get a firm grip on this game as they got out of rhythm too often and committed 28 fouls while the Suns converted 28 of 37 free throws.

“I thought Phoenix played well tonight,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Tonight we were low on energy for some reason, but we'll take care of it as we move forward. At the moment it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Luka Dončić (40 points, 10 rebounds), Kyrie Irving (22 points, five assists, three steals) and Klay Thompson (19 points, 5 of 12 three-pointers) led the Mavs. But no other Mavs scored more than the seven points scored by Daniel Gafford.

“We’ll look at the tape and see how we can get some other people involved,” Kidd said. “But those three kept us in the game, and Luka kept us in the game early. We reduced it twice to six. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

The Mavs had a chance to cut the deficit to 108-102 when Naji Marshall was fouled by Jusuf Nurkic with 2:29 left. But Suns coach Mike Budenholzer declined the call and subsequently won the challenge after review by an officer.

Durant then sank two free throws and Booker added three more from the charity stripe to extend the Phoenix lead to 113-110 with 1:39 left.

“The flow of the game – we fouled too much,” Kidd said. “They shot (37) free throws. So if you take the ball at the free throw line and pause or sit there and wait for free throws, we just haven't found a rhythm.

“Give them something to do. They attacked and got to the free throw line.”

The Mavs were down 63-55 at the break, but continued to fight until a three-pointer from Dončić and a nifty dunk from Gafford got them within 68-67 of the Suns less than three minutes into the second half. On the final play of the game, Gafford passed the ball to Irving, who passed it back to Gafford, who slammed it home.

Thompson had a message for his teammates after the loss. And it said: “Talk to each other more, especially on defense. That was really it. Limit our fouls. 37 fouls – not good.”

He also reiterated how the abundance of fouls ultimately ruined the game, then added: “It's possible, but we just have to play without fouls. “It starts with me – four fouls, too many.”

Nurkic overwhelmed the Mavs with seven baskets in 12 attempts and plenty of physical play inside the court.

“He was just a lot more physical than us,” Gafford said. “Honestly, he got along pretty well and wanted to work, to be honest.”

Gafford was grateful for the 40 points and 10 rebounds Dončić collected and his persistence in keeping the Mavs afloat.

“He does everything he’s supposed to do when he’s on the floor,” Gafford said. “We have to be able to give him an extra boost defensively because at the end of the day we have to be there for him.

“He gives us so much, so we have to be able to do the same for him. Stop the pitch because the offense is coming our way. We just need to build our defensive wall.”

To his credit, Dončić knows the Mavs got some good looks at the basket that just didn't pan out.

“I think we had some great shots, it felt like it was a lot of short shots,” he said. “I think we had some great looks that we would probably knock out another time.

“They were fierce against us, they played great defense and only allowed about 100 points. I think they were aggressive and then did some great things Defense.”

The Mavs were not at their best in the first half, as they committed 15 fouls and shot just 42.2 percent from the field (19 of 45). In fact, it was a save to the free throw line for the Suns, who were 12 of 17 from charity stripe in the first half.

“Yeah, I thought the quality of the shot was good,” Kidd said. “I thought we missed a lot of open threes. In this league it sometimes happens that you get a frank look – it doesn't go down. But I thought again: Kai had great looks, Luka had great looks, and Klay had a lot of them.

“So, for our big three, these guys got quality looks, we just didn’t like them. I think we missed some layups again tonight, some in the paint, but that happens. But I thought the boys once again fought until the end and we just couldn't get over the hurdle. So give Phoenix credit.”

Seemingly almost every time the Mavs got something going, the whistle blew, hindering their progress. Midway through the second quarter, the Suns led by as many as 13 points (48-35) thanks to some shooting from Durant and some inside power play from Jusuf Nurkic, who finished the game with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

“He was aggressive,” Kidd said of Nurkic. “We talked about it. We had to box him out.

“He got some offensive rebounds and then he made some layups in the post and gave them a spark. “He was good for them tonight.”

Three points from PJ Washington, Irving and Thompson cut the Mavs' deficit to 58-52 with 2:12 left in the first half. But the Suns just didn't want it was not contested on a night when they played without guard Bradley Beal (right elbow soreness).

The Mavs couldn't get their famous lob game going in any way.

“Different teams will give us (the lob) and try to take the lob away from us,” Doncic said. “Like today, just 10 more layups for me.

“So it just depends on what the defense gives us, and it’s only been two games.”

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer noted that adding Thompson to the Mavs' lineup — alongside Luka Doncic and Irving — makes Dallas a formidable opponent and puts extraordinary pressure on its defense.

“Obviously I have a lot of respect for Klay and his ability to shoot quickly, get hot and make shots off the dribble,” Budenholzer said. “I think your knowledge of where he is, while at the same time knowing that Doncic and Irving are going to have a ton of ball, I'm sure that's their formula.

“If you try to lose sight of one and lose touch with Thompson when they have two great players tightening the defense, you kind of have to be able to do anything against them.”

Thompson was 7 of 16 from the field and several of his shots went to the middle of the basket and went out of bounds. It was a night like that for the Mavs, who shot 39.8 percent from the field and missed 28 of their 41 three-point attempts.

“It's really good, there's so much room for improvement,” Thompson said, citing the chemistry between himself and Dončić. “Game two of 82 and I’m very encouraged by our mutual trust and potential.

“But tonight was a great learning experience for us and we will get better.”

X: @DwainPrice