Phoenix, AZ – O.J. Mayo led a balanced attack for Dallas, scoring 20 points as the Mavericks continued their dominance over the Phoenix Suns with a 109-99 victory on Friday.
Darren Collison poured in 19 points, Shawn Marion tallied 14 points to go with 11 rebounds and Vince Carter added 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who have captured 11 of the past 12 matchups with Phoenix, including the first three of this season.
Dallas prevailed despite missing Dirk Nowitzki for the second consecutive contest with a strained right adductor. Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, in the win.
"I thought we really enforced our will," said Mayo. "Raised our level of competitiveness and toughness, mentally and physically to go out there and get that win."
Goran Dragic fell just shy of a triple-double, registering 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Phoenix, which was coming off a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
"That is a tough defensive team," said Suns coach Lindsey Hunter. "It is a lesson well learned. I think we are still a work in progress and we are going to keep pushing the envelope to be what we want to be."
Shannon Brown scored 20 off the bench, Luis Scola followed with 18 points and eight boards, and Marcin Gortat tallied 16 points in the setback.
After finishing the third quarter well, the Mavericks took a slim 76-75 lead on Wright's short jumper to begin the fourth.
Several minutes later, Carter broke a tie game with a 3-pointer and Crowder then added one of his own to cap an 11-4 push for the Mavericks, staking them to a 92-85 edge.
The Suns were able to come within five points several times in the final six minutes, but second chance opportunities for Dallas kept them from coming any closer.
Dragic's floater pulled Phoenix within 96-91, but the Mavericks got six shot attempts on two possessions before Mayo buried a jumper to push the advantage back up to seven.
Scola answered with a pair of free throws at the other end, but after a Carter missed jumper, Marion got the offensive rebound and banked in a short jumper before scoring a layup off a Phoenix turnover to put Dallas ahead, 102-93, all but ending any hope for the Suns.
Phoenix held a 10-point lead in the third following an 11-0 run, which featured a triple from Jared Dudley before Gortat scored consecutive baskets to put the Suns on top, 71-61.
However, Dallas reduced its deficit to one by quarter's end, as Wright and Mike James combined for 10 of the Mavs' points during an 11-3 run to close out the period.
Game Notes
The Mavericks outscored the Suns, 35-24, in the fourth quarter ... Dallas improved to 4-7 on the second night of a back-to-back and 8-18 on the road this season ... The Suns fell to 3-3 under Hunter's guidance ... The contest featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.
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