The Dallas Mavericks just blew a 22-point lead on the home court of their biggest rivals currently to open their 2022-23 season. As the Mavs faced the Phoenix Suns, many expected the Mavs to pull out another statement win after eliminating the Suns from the 2022 Playoffs.
While the Mavericks got off to a great start and picked up a massive lead in the game, the Phoenix Suns had an incredible second half to bring themsevces back into the game. Even when new Mavericks’ addition Christian Wodd went on a 16-point outburst that nobody interrupted, the Suns held steady and took the lead in the 4th quarter after a sensational performance from Damion Lee in the final minutes including the game-winner with 9.7 seconds on the clock.
NBA fans were ready to attack the Mavericks and Doncic for this collapse, especially considering the circumstances around this rivalry.
DAMION LEE WINS IT FOR THE SUNS! #KiaTipOff22 pic.twitter.com/675SPXQjcC
— NBA (@NBA) October 20, 2022
😭 Mavs fans, my team has also been GAMED by Damion Lee. Its a feeling worse than death
— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) October 20, 2022
Getting packed up by Damion Lee after fumbling a statement win is absolutely egregious.
— Dom2K 🎅🎇 (@Dom_2k) October 20, 2022
Suns needed that. I hope they can heal in Phoenix and move forward. 🙏🏾
S/o to Damion Lee
— Bibs (@BibsCorner) October 20, 2022
Damion Lee just took your spot @CP3
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 20, 2022
Kidd went all weird mad scientist in the 4th and it bit us in the ass. Also, Damion Lee gonna hit all of those? I'll take my chances I guess lol
— (redacted) (@squish41) October 20, 2022
Damion Lee to CP3 in the locker room https://t.co/mNjOYULgNL pic.twitter.com/9k4ffZlBSJ
— dannyboi 🌊 fuckkerr/lacob (@chasingring5) October 20, 2022
CP3 getting benched for Damion Lee would be the equivalent of Steph getting benched for Quinn Cook
— dre (@OnBallSteph) October 20, 2022
THE DAMION LEE SPECIALpic.twitter.com/B4RIGCgkr7
— Suns Brasil (@PhoenixSunsBra) October 20, 2022
Christian Wood played 24 minutes tonight
Less than Maxi Kleber or Tim Hardaway Jr
Goodnight
— Uncle Block (@517to214) October 20, 2022
Doncic scored 35 points and Christian Wood scored 25, but 21 of 34 (62%) free-throw shooting came back to haunt Dallas. That and another Phoenix fourth-quarter beat-down.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) October 20, 2022
Christian Wood scores 57 consecutive points.
Jason Kidd:
"What if we sit him for a long stretch randomly the Suns will never see it coming."
— (redacted) (@squish41) October 20, 2022
Jason Kidd should remember a time when Avery Johnson needlessly pulled him in crunch time, later saying Kidd didnt know the plays. Wood's the second best player, play him.
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) October 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/nolongerdfh/status/1582951945811075072
Jason Kidd and missing Free Throws really lost us that game. Unreal how you would bench a player that’s outplaying everyone on the court in the final minutes of a close game.
— mavsmarie (@mavsmarie) October 20, 2022
SPENCER AND WOOD BETTER BE PRACTICING FREE THROWS CAUSE THAT WAS PATHETIC
— m⁷⁷ (@miss77ela) October 20, 2022
The Mavericks were having a horrible free throw shooting night, as non-Luka Mavs went 8-21 on FTs while Luka himself went 11-11. The Suns depth beat out the Mavs, as 5 Phoenix players scored double digit points as the Mavericks saw limited production from starting lineup players like JaVale McGee and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Should The Dallas Mavericks Be Worried?
This was not a good loss for Dallas. There are questions around the new-look Mavs after the changes in the summer that brought McGee and Wood to the team while Jalen Brunson left for the Knicks. The team desperately missed having another elite ball-handler with Doncic and Dinwiddie, while Jason Kidd made the decision to bench both McGee and Wood for Maxi Kleber.
Jason Kidd had a slow start with the squad last year as well, perfecting rotations over the first 2 months. While that is not ideal for a Mavs team that have a year’s worth of continuity with the coach, fans will be hoping that Kidd resolves this situation sooner rather than later. The Western Conference is a bloodbath this year, and every win may count.
The Suns saw a disappointing performance from Chris Paul, but the team showed immense heart in the second half to outscore the Mavericks by 19 points, and clinch the win by 2.
