Stats rundown: 3 numbers from a Dallas Mavericks loss to the Phoenix Suns

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Phoenix Suns 110-80 Tuesday night in Phoenix. The Mavericks started off great in the first quarter, but their offense disappeared for the rest of the game. The Suns outscored the Mavericks 59-34 in the second and third quarters. The fourth quarter was simply mop up duty for Phoenix.

Doncic led the Mavericks with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Brunson chipped in 21 points. Devin Booker led the Suns with 28 points. Chris Paul had 10 assists.

The Suns are now up 3-2 in the series and can wrap things up Thursday night in Dallas. Here are three stats from the game:

2: The number of assists from Luka Doncic

No Maverick had more than two assists. That’s troubling in itself, but Doncic having only two dimes is catastrophic. If the Mavericks’ floor general and best passer only had two assists, the ball wasn’t moving at all for Dallas. It’s part of the reason they struggled to get quality shots. Phoenix, on the other hand, notched 28 assists. Dallas had just nine. The ball movement has to get better for the Mavericks.

16: The number of field goals by which the Suns outshot the Mavericks

The Suns got six more offensive rebounds than the Mavericks. Dallas turned the ball over six more times than Phoenix. That led to a 16 shot deficit for the Mavericks. Add in the fact that the Suns shot 49.4% from the field and there’s your blowout. You can’t give up more shots to an opponent and let them shoot almost 50% from the field and expect to win.

12: The combined points from Finney-Smith, Bullock, and Kleber

This happened too often in the regular season, and it reared its ugly head again at the worst possible time. Brunson did his part with 21 points. But the rest of the rotation completely lost its way. The only player who matched his usual contribution was Davis Bertans, who scored 10 points off the bench. Kleber, Finney-Smith, and Bullock are too important to combine for 12 points. The Mavericks can’t rely on Luka going nuclear to keep them in playoff games.

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