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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
On this occasion, it required five points by center Jusuf Nurkic in the final 58 seconds — including the go-ahead 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 that are within five points in the final five minutes. The Suns extended their winning streak to seven games, the last three of which Phoenix’s foe has had the ball on the final possession with the 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 remaining and another offensive board before drawing the foul to send him to the line for the winner. “I don’t really care if it’s [by] one point or 35. As long as you keep winning, that’s great, because that’s the best way to learn. Not through the losses. But also, it’s good for fans, too. They’re betting, all this stuff, so good luck with them 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 of any team in NBA history that has won at least eight of its first nine games, having 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 record seven clutch wins in their first nine games of the season. The Suns have outscored opponents by 29 points in 32 clutch 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 just like we can’t avoid them right now,” Suns star Kevin Durant said of games that go down to the wire. “It’s good practice for us to understand how tough it is to play in this environment, tight games on road, stuff like that is good for us early in the season. Playing against a team that’s proven, that’s been to the Finals. They got big aspirations for their team as well, so it was a good win for us.”
The Suns, the league’s worst fourth-quarter team during a disappointing 49-win campaign last season, jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half in Dallas but had to rally from a six-point deficit during the fourth quarter.
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 flurry, getting buckets on three straight possessions. That 79-second sequence reminded Durant of the pickup games the former Brooklyn Nets teammates played against each other while he was rehabbing from 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’ lone victory to be decided by more than six points.
“We’re not expecting 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 is in the playoffs. It’s usually how it is at the end of the season when you’re trying to put yourself in good position for seeding. So the more we get more comfortable in those situations, the better it’ll be.”