During another matchup of the NBA’s few active rivalries, the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, things got heated on the court. The teams are facing off as part of NBA Rivals Week and lived up to the billing after Kevin Durant hit the deck after a Grant Williams screen. Williams stood over KD and stared at him, prompting Jusuf Nurkic to shove Williams and start a scuffle involving both teams.
Williams, KD, and Nurkic were all assessed technical fouls for this incident.
Grant Williams stands over KD, and Nurkic shoves him. 👀🍿
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 25, 2024
The Mavericks and Suns have had a heated rivalry ever since their 2022 playoff matchup when the Mavericks upset the No. 1 seed Suns to win their Conference semi-final clash with a dominant Game 7 win on the Suns’ homecourt. The main rivalry is between the two stars of each team, Luka Doncic and Devin Booker, but it seems to be spreading to the players who have joined this rivalry this season.
The game is 58-57 in the Mavericks’ favor at halftime. That isn’t something that will make Mavs fans happy, as they led by 16 points during the second quarter before the Suns ended the quarter with a 23-8 run to cut the deficit to one point.
Booker has scored 16 points, while Doncic leads all scorers in the game with 24 points.
The Last Mavericks vs. Suns Matchup Was A Blowout
The last time these teams faced off was during Christmas Day. Similar to this game, Kyrie Irving was out with an injury so Doncic led his team alone against the healthy Suns. It was a sensational night for Doncic, who had a 50-point night as the Suns couldn’t compete with them. The loss even led to widespread reports that Durant was unhappy with the team after their slow start to the year.
This matchup is looking far more interesting and has had some really fun moments. The Suns have a better roster than the Mavericks, as a team effort led by Booker brought them back into the game. Doncic is trying to lead the Mavs alone against the triplet of scorers in Booker, Durant, and Beal. The trio have combined for 35 points so far this game.
Right now, the Mavs have kept pace because Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. have also combined for 35 points. Unfortunately, no other Maverick has scored in double-digits, showing that Doncic may need to go for 50 points again if he wants to have a chance of beating Phoenix.
The Suns have come into this game with the longest win streak in the West, currently at six games. The Mavericks lost their last two games and are 2-4 in their last six, sliding from the No. 5 seed to the No. 8 seed over that spell. A win for Dallas will tie their record with Phoenix, while Phoenix can take a two-game advantage over the Mavericks in the standings.
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