National Basketball Association
Dallas 99, Phoenix 95
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 26, 2023
Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #23 Tre Maddox, #67 Brandon Adair, #8 Marc Davis
Attendance: 17071

Spencer Dinwiddie scored a season-high 36 points as the visiting Dallas Mavericks overcame an early injury to star Luka Doncic to beat the Phoenix Suns 99-95 on Thursday night.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Dwight Powell added 15 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 11, and Reggie Bullock had 10 for Dallas, which snapped the Suns' four-game winning streak.

Doncic, who entered the night as the NBA's leading scorer at 33.8 points per game, exited early in the first quarter due to a sprained left ankle and did not return. X-rays were negative.

Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson led Phoenix with 22 points apiece, while Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 20 rebounds after missing the last three games due to a non-COVID illness. Mikal Bridges scored 16 points and Paul tallied 10 assists.

Phoenix trailed by nine with 3:34 remaining before cutting the deficit to 96-95 on Paul's layup with 19.7 seconds remaining.

Bullock then made the first of two foul shots before missing the second attempt. Powell was fouled while grabbing the rebound and knocked down two free throws to secure the victory.

Dinwiddie helped the Mavericks win for just the third time in 10 games while shooting 5 of 6 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 from the foul line. The veteran point guard also contributed six rebounds and nine assists.

Dinwiddie scored 10 points in the first quarter, which ended with the teams tied at 32. Phoenix trailed by two late in the second period before Dallas scored nine of the final 14 points to take a 54-48 lead into the half.

The Mavericks maintained their lead throughout the third quarter thanks in large part to Dinwiddie, who scored 10 points for the third straight period.

Dallas held a seven-point advantage to start the fourth quarter and stretched its lead to 89-81 on Finney-Smith's trey with 6:55 remaining.

The Suns trailed by nine late in the fourth quarter before scoring five quick points to pull within 95-91 with 2:47 left, setting up the tight finish.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Phoenix
Spencer Dinwiddie 36 Scoring Cameron Johnson 22
Spencer Dinwiddie 9 Assists Chris Paul 10
Dorian Finney-Smith 12 Rebounds Deandre Ayton 20
Spencer Dinwiddie 11 Free Throws Made Deandre Ayton 7
Josh Green 2 Steals Damion Lee 2
Dwight Powell 3 Blocks Deandre Ayton 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dallas 99 42.9 13-34 20-28 20 43 3 3 9
Phoenix 95 40.7 13-32 12-16 24 50 6 4 9
Upcoming Games
  • Phoenix will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Suns have a W/L % of .560 after a win and .440 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .583 after a loss.