Luka Doncic scored 33 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 and the Dallas Mavericks preserved a big lead against the Phoenix Suns this time in a 130-111 victory on Monday night.
The Mavericks remained in control after a 28-8 run covering most of the last 10 minutes of the first quarter while ending a 10-game, regular-season losing streak against the Western Conference-leading Suns.
Dallas squandered a 22-point lead in the second half of a 107-105 loss at Phoenix in the season opener between teams that met in the West semifinals last season. Dallas won that series last spring with a Game 7 rout on the Suns’ home court.
Deandre Ayton scored 20 points for the Suns, who couldn’t recover from a 15-point first quarter, their lowest total in any quarter this season, as they finished a Texas back-to-back after a blowout victory in San Antonio.
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Phoenix lost for just the second time in nine games, while Dallas won consecutive games for the first time in three weeks.
Devin Booker, who was averaging 39 points over the previous four games, scored 11 on 4-of-13 shooting. The Suns shot 26% in the first quarter before finishing at 44% to 52% for the Mavericks.
The Suns trailed by as many as 27 and were never closer than 17 in the second half. Doncic, who had six rebounds and eight assists, sat the entire fourth quarter along with Booker.
