3 things from the Mavs heartbreaking loss to the Suns

The Suns (100) defeated the Mavericks (98) on Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to end the Mavs winning streak at 4.

Dirk lead all Mavs scorers, putting up 23 points and 11 rebounds with 19 points coming in the first half. His scoring was incredibly efficient, shooting 71.4 percent from the field.

Harrison Barnes also contributed 23 points and set his career high in free throws, shooting 13 from 14 from the charity stripe. This is really encouraging as it’s an element of his game that has been clearly lacking in the past.

Here’s a few things to note from tonight’s game:

Seth Curry needs to stay aggressive.

Seth has been one of the brightest spots of the Mavericks season so far, his ability to get to the rim and hit shots from long range efficiently have carved himself out a vital role in the Mavs rotation.

When Curry isn’t scoring though, he is hardly as effective and tends to fade into the background a little too much. This is likely going to happen from time to time, but he has proven himself enough to show that he will bounce back from this game.

Devin Booker is really good.

Okay we already knew this, but booker confirmed tonight that he can carry a team on his back and show up big when it matters most. The last time these 2 teams met he scored 39, and tonight he put in 36 points including the buzzer beater shot which won them the game.

Wes was all over Booker in the fourth quarter, however Devin got the better of him with some incredible shot making.

The Mavs are missing Noel.

Salah Mejri being the only defensive option at the center position is not ideal for the Mavericks. Although Mejri was able to make his presence felt tonight against the Suns with a couple of great blocks, the Mavs still missed Noel’s ability to not only turn away shots, but run down the other side of the floor and finish consistently, which is something that makes the Mavericks a dangerous basketball team.

There is no certainty when Nerlens will be back in a Mavs uniform, we hope to see him on Monday or Wednesday night, but he is certainly eager to suit up against his old team when the Mavericks take on the 76ers on Friday Night.

The Mavericks will take on the Raptors on Monday night in Toronto at 6:00 CST. You can catch the game on Fox Sports Southwest or league pass.