Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks
Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM ET
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX | Game ID: 22400921
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DAL 24 30 32 30 116PHX 32 28 37 28 125
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Booker and Durant help Suns hold off injury-depleted Mavs 125-116
DALLAS -- — Devin Booker scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Phoenix Suns beat the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 125-116 on Sunday.
Bradley Beal scored 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 as the Suns pulled within 1 1/2 games of Dallas for the 10th seed in the Western Conference, the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Naji Marshall had a career high for the second consecutive game with 34 points for the Mavericks, the defending West champs who were down to seven healthy players by the end of the game.
Dallas big men Kessler Edwards and Dwight Powell went to the locker room after their heads collided chasing a loose ball late in the third quarter. Guard Brandon Williams was later ruled out with left hamstring tightness.
Edwards returned with a bandage over his left eye, but Powell didn't come back after walking to the bench with a bleeding forehead, getting treated briefly and leaving the court.
Takeaways Suns: Rim protection is a big issue for the vertically challenged Mavs. And Mason Plumlee had three consecutive dunks in the first half, then back-to-back alley-oop slams after the break. The 6-foot-10 Plumlee finished with 13 points.
Mavericks: Dallas matched its longest losing streak of the season at five games and dropped below .500 for the first time since mid-November. The Mavs have lost all three games since star guard Kyrie Irving’s season-ending knee injury.
Key moment Booker hit a jumper that started a 19-2 run for Phoenix bridging the first and second quarters that put the Suns in front for good. Phoenix turned a 22-18 deficit into a 37-34 lead.
Key stat The Suns shot 58% from the field.
Up next Both teams finish a back-to-back Monday. The Suns visit Memphis, and the Mavericks play the first of consecutive games in San Antonio.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
CG C. Gillespie
DB D. Booker
GA G. Allen
KD K. Durant
MP M. Plumlee
NR N. Richards
RD R. Dunn
RO R. O'Neale
TJ T. Jones
DALBW B. Williams
CM C. Martin
DE D. Exum
DP D. Powell
KE K. Edwards
KT K. Thompson
MC M. Christie
NM N. Marshall
SD S. Dinwiddie
PHX/DAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur