Phoenix Suns (44-36) beat Dallas Mavericks (25-55) 112-107 at home on Wednesday, April 8.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Suns struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-29 and a 4-point lead after one. The Suns kept the pressure on with a 28-24 second quarter, carrying a 8-point lead into halftime.
The teams matched each other with 27 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Suns remained ahead by 8 entering the fourth. The Mavericks took the fourth 27-24; the Suns held on for a 112-107 regulation win.
What decided it
The Suns got more from their shots, finishing at 53.8% effective field-goal shooting compared with 48.9% for the Mavericks. The Suns grabbed 26.7% of their own misses, while the Mavericks recovered 22.7%. In a 5-point game, that shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Mavericks did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 22.5 against 15.4. The Suns made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 97 possessions per team, the Suns produced 116 points per 100 possessions to 110.8 for the Mavericks.
Who made the difference
Devin Booker was the game's biggest individual force for PHX: 37 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast on 13-27 shooting. His Game Score of 27.1 led everyone. His team was +11 with him on the floor.
Marvin Bagley III led the Mavericks with 20 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast on 8-11 shooting, good for a 18.4 Game Score.
Cooper Flagg (11 pts, 11 reb, 6 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Suns about a 83% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Phoenix Suns lead 5-1.
The Suns are now 44-36, and the Mavericks are 25-55. The Suns last five before this game: W-L-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.