PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns showing fight and focus during the growth process is what is needed to start the year, and Saturday’s 114-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks was quite a step back in that direction.

“I think we played closer to a complete game,” Devin Booker said. “We were stressing when we got up early in the second quarter. We gave up the lead this year, so we just tried to keep a sense of urgency.”

Phoenix wasn’t perfect on either end, but feigned a Dallas team that put together a few different quality pieces to hang around. As a result, the Suns rebounded enough and took care of the ball enough, while also knocking down enough shots.

In what is hard to believe given the recent history of this game, the Suns defeated the Mavericks both at the foul line (28-15) and from beyond the arc (14-13). With a total of fourteen meetings over the past two seasons, including the playoffs, Phoenix has made more free throws than Dallas only twice and converted more threes only once, never in the same game.

Again, it doesn’t take much more than filling in the gaps and not hurting yourself to win a basketball game if you’re ahead in these two areas. Second chance points were 10-9 Suns and their 11 turnovers resulted in only 11 Dallas points.

Bradley Beal was out due to right elbow soreness. He told it Arizona Sports he hopes to play on Monday and that it is nothing serious. This cleared the way for rookie Ryan Dunn to make his first career start.

While it’s not an opinion that’s endorsed on this front, it’s been a hot topic of discussion that Beal would be best used off the bench, which always makes nights like this interesting since the Suns moved on from Dunn (or whoever also) from the beginning. Beal’s place would build that momentum. Phoenix’s standard lineup through two games was a dismal -21 in 19 minutes.

To be fair, Beal was the Suns’ best player through two games, and he played very well alongside some reserves during that time. Mega-salary players like Beal rarely make this move because there is an unspoken (or sometimes spoken) hierarchy that has existed in the NBA for decades.

The possibility will loom over this team if 1) the Suns thrive in parts of the season where Beal misses time, or 2) Beal has obvious issues adjusting.

Saturday was neither, but that said, if Dunn continues to play like he did on Saturday, the discourse will only be fueled further. He made three of his six attempts from 3, and while he struggled with foul trouble defending a 40 from Luka Doncic, he influenced Doncic on a handful of possessions in a way no one else on the roster is capable of. There is a learning curve he picks up on some of the mistakes stars can make, as evidenced by his five.

And that’s actually a good thing. Let Durant explain.

“I just love his poise, I love that he’s physical, I love that he actually does dirty,” Durant said. “I’d rather you be physical and err on the side of physicality, and then you have to control yourself a little bit, rather than playing soft and trying to move up into physicality.”

Dunn defended James Harden, LeBron James and Doncic in his first three games. He has diligently researched the tape recordings and asked the team’s veterans what he should look out for. Dunn only knew he would start half an hour before the game, but had already watched Doncic (and Kyrie Irving) a lot in preparation.

“That’s a crazy lineup,” Booker said of who Dunn has defended so far. “We all try to give him our two cents, but experience is the best teacher. He picks up things, wants to learn and pays close attention. He normally doesn’t make the same mistake twice. That’s a mature rookie.”

Dunn thinks he has already improved as a defender over the past week, but also noted his foul count.

“I think I did a good job,” Dunn said. “(Doncic) also had 40, which is just crazy to me. I think it will only improve and see what I can do.

Dallas’ offense started putting up some shots in the bottom half of the second quarter, but Jusuf Nurkic scored twelve consecutive points in less than four minutes to keep Dallas at bay. The Mavericks went small and Nurkic was able to find the right touch around the basket. It was a significant moment for him after struggling mightily the night before and not looking much better in the first quarter.

An Irving touch shot got Dallas within six with 9:20 left before missing six straight shots, a few of which were quality looks. Phoenix eventually responded with 3s through Dunn and Durant to build the lead to a dozen.

“That’s a huge play for us and I think that got us going,” Durant said of Dunn’s 3.

Nurkic finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five turnovers. Durant downplayed the giveaways and liked how Nurkic “kept it simple.” Nurkic said he feels like he has gone too far to fit into a new system and not be as aggressive, but noted several times that he needs to play better.

“That’s way too much. … I love what I want to do, but it’s not working, so I have to be better and simpler,” Nurkic said of his turnover.

“You have to realize the team plan is to play us super physical, ruin the game, so we’re going to have some turnovers trying to fight through that,” Durant said of the 38 combined in the first two games.

This wasn’t a rebound explosion from Booker, an outcome that was the most logical bet in advance after his underperformance in the first two games of the year. But what he has done best over the four days of the season is attacking the basket to create turnovers and 3s. He only had five assists on Saturday, but the impact was much greater. He continues to look for his opportunity, going 4-for-12 for 21 points, five assists and one turnover.

Durant’s shooting was impeccable and his consistent presence was ultimately what won the Suns the game. He produced 31 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal, a block and turnovers. Both boys played their best defensive games of the season.

Royce O’Neale is now +46 after three games, the seventh highest mark in the entire league. He has done this while scoring a total of 19 points. O’Neale may not jump off the screen most nights, but if you make a mental note of when he makes a nice pass, sets a smart screen, grabs a big rebound, or includes something defensive, you’ll run out of bandwidth in your brain. . very quickly.

And O’Neale had a highlight reel anyway, leaking out for a layup and then sprinting back on the play.

ROYCE WITH THE CHASEDOWN BLOCK 😱 pic.twitter.com/zgqm9QNFWO

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 27, 2024

“That play was just groundbreaking,” Durant said. “I think coaches around the country and the world can show that kind of effort to their team.”

O’Neale finished with seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and that block in 27 minutes. Grayson Allen was out for the second straight game due to personal reasons, making O’Neale’s play all the more important.

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