The old stereotype in sports insists that it’s hard to be a repeat winner in rematches. But the old cliché is certainly not fully aware of the full set of circumstances that led to the Dallas Mavericks falling for the second time in three days and for the eighth straight in two years to the Phoenix Suns on Friday in the Valley of the Sun by the Phoenix, Dallas their shot … until they missed their shots. “We couldn’t score a goal,” said coach Jason Kidd, starting his press with those three words … and really, no more words were needed. On Wednesday, Dallas led for most of the game but obviously missed the down-the-stretch clutch game from Luka Doncic, who missed this and that with a sprained left ankle and sprained left knee 44 seconds before the otherwise positive Victory on Monday had suffered over the Denver Nuggets. The absence of Doncic was also central to these natural allies. How many teams are deep enough to get rid of an MVP candidate but keep rolling? Unfortunately for the Mavs (now 9-6), these Suns – an NBA finalist a year ago and now winner from 11 to 12-3 – seems to be one of those teams. Eerily, by the end of three-quarters, the Mavs were up five – just like in the previous game. And in an eerie and disappointing way, yet another iteration of Wednesday when Phoenix hit the gas in the final quarter to break away and started a 10-2 run that turned into a 24-6 run that was a tight in a bloated transformed loss … and turned Wednesday into Friday. In this nationally televised matchup between two of the best teams at the Western Conference, the Suns overcame the efforts of Kristaps Porzingis (23 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block) and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson (18 each) Points) and over time overwhelmed the Mavs without Luka with their now familiar waves of talent and, against Dallas anyway, their uncanny ability to flip a switch in the fourth quarter. Devin Booker (19 points) and Mikal Bridges (with perfect 7-of-7 shooting, including 3 of 3 from the bow for 19) led the way, but veteran Chris Paul was the top with 18 points, 14 assists and five rebounds true troublemakers and three steals. The Mavs are now going to travel to Los Angeles to play another Doppelh reader, perhaps with Doncic trying to return, with games against the Clippers on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. And they will try stop repeating yourself like this …
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