On this occasion, it needed five points from center Jusuf Nurkic in the final 58 seconds – including the free throw with 0.8 on the clock – and sweating out Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic’s attempt from the half-court logo .

Doncic’s high-arcing 38-footer fell short and the Suns escaped the American Airlines Center with a 114-113 victory on Friday night.

The Suns improved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in games within five points in the final five minutes. The Suns extended their winning streak to seven games, the last three of which saw Phoenix’s foe have the ball on the final possession with a chance to tie or take the lead.

“A win is a win, man,” said Nurkic, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, including a go-ahead putback dunk with 31 seconds left and another offensive board before drawing the foul and sending him to the line for the winner sent. “It doesn’t really matter to me whether it is one point or 35 points. As long as you keep winning, that’s great because that’s the best way to learn. Not because of the losses. But it’s also good for the fans. They’re betting, all this stuff, so good luck figuring out how we’re going to do it.”

Phoenix is ​​tied for first place in the Western Conference with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the two teams have taken drastically different routes to their 8-1 records. According to ESPN Research, the Suns have the second-lowest point differential among all teams in NBA history that have won at least eight of their first nine games and outscored their opponents by a total of 30 points. The Thunder are the first team to win eight of their first nine games by double-digit margins.

The 1997-98 Atlanta Hawks and 2001-02 Milwaukee Bucks are the only other teams in NBA history to have seven wins in their first nine games of the season. The Suns have outscored their opponents by 29 points in 32 minutes this season.

“We’re keeping it interesting, to say the least,” said Suns point guard Tyus Jones, who had 17 points and 5 assists against the Mavs.

“Man, it’s like we can’t avoid them now,” Suns star Kevin Durant said of games that go down to the wire. “It’s a good exercise for us to understand how difficult it is to play in this environment, exciting games on the road, things like that are good for us early in the season. Playing against a team that has proven itself, that has reached the final. There are also big ambitions for their team, so it was a good win for us.”

The Suns, the league’s worst fourth-quarter team during a disappointing 49-win season last season, jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half in Dallas but had to rally from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter points.

Durant finished with a team-high 26 points, highlighted by a pair of pull-up 3-pointers that helped the Suns stay within striking distance down the stretch, while Kyrie Irving (29 points) went on a scoring spree, getting buckets on three straight pieces. possessions. That 79-second sequence reminded Durant of the pickup games the former Brooklyn Nets teammates played against each other while he was rehabbing his Achilles injury during the 2020 offseason.

“It brought back a lot of memories,” Durant said. “I miss being around him, so it’s always good to compete against him.”

It was the second time this season that Durant’s Suns got the best of Irving’s Mavs. Phoenix’s 114-102 home win over the Mavs on Oct. 26 is the Suns’ only win decided by more than six points.

“We don’t expect to be in these situations every game, but the more the better, to be honest,” said Durant, who leads the league with 35 clutch points. “Because that’s usually how it goes in the play-offs. That’s usually how it goes at the end of the season when you’re trying to put yourself in a good position to qualify. So the more comfortable we get in those situations, the more better it is.” will be.”