Mavs Game Observations: Game 2 @ Suns

Close but not quite…

Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images

The Mavericks lost what seemed like a very winnable game, falling 114-112 to the Phoenix Suns, who were on the second night of a back-to-back and missing Bradley Beal.

Before we dig into everything that went wrong and how this one slipped away, just a quick note for all new subscribers:

Each week, I’ll pick one game as the Game of the Week (this week it was the season opener against the Spurs). For these games, both the preview and post-game notes are fully available for everyone to read. For other games, some insights will be exclusive to paid subscribers, so if you’re able, please consider upgrading to support the work!

All season long, game previews and observations will be available in the dedicated 2024-25 Game Coverage section on the digginbasketball website.

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Today’s notes:

1. The Force Awakens...not yet

2. Tactical game lost

3. Jusuf Nurkić outworking the entire Mavs frontcourt

4. Foul game

5. A half-second that makes a difference and keeps the vibes high(🎞️VIDEO)

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1-The Force Awakens...not yet

I spent more than 1,000 words in my game preview, breaking down the tactical chess match this game could be. But sometimes, regular season NBA basketball is way more simple. Over an 82-game season, it mostly comes down to one thing: who plays harder. Who plays with more energy. More force.

Last night, the Suns did—despite playing on a back-to-back. That was disappointing.

Force wasn’t the only thing missing last night—focus wasn’t there either. Botched layups and putbacks. Missed open threes. Missed box outs. Moving screens. Bad fouls in the bonus. There was even a five-second violation when everyone but the inbounder, Dončić, ran up the floor.

The Suns started a rookie (Ryan Dunn) and played another (Oso Ighodaro); together, they logged 28 minutes—yet they were the more composed team.

2-Tactical game lost

While energy ultimately decided this game, the tactical side didn’t go the Mavericks’ way as well. In my preview, I noted that Nurkić would be the primary target, especially if the Suns had him defending in drop coverage.

Budenholzer did start the game with that strategy, and Dončić and Irving went after Nurkić early and often. Irving struggled with his otherwise deadly midrange pull-up game—so essential to punish a big man sagging off in the paint—making only 4 of his 13 non-restricted area mid-range shots. And while Dončić ended up scoring 40, it never felt impactful or dominant enough to force Budenholzer into making adjustments. The Suns continued defending the pick-and-roll mostly two-on-two, allowing Dončić to score but avoiding rotations, giving up almost no lobs, and limiting corner threes (Dončić finished with just four assists).

And when the ball did get kicked out for a three, role players not named Klay Thompson couldn’t capitalize: Washington, Marshall, Kleber, and Hardy combined for just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The Suns looked comfortable most of the night, playing big and not reverting to small-ball much like they did in the prior two games.

3-Jusuf Nurkić outworking the entire Mavs frontcourt

Speaking of force and going big—the big Nurk, was a big force in this game.

Last year, post-deadline, energy, athleticism, and hustle pulled the Mavs out of many holes. Last night, those same athletic and hustle plays were missing. Lively and Gafford had no blocks, and Washington and Marshall didn’t do nearly enough to make up for their poor shooting.

Instead, Nurkić almost matched the production of the entire Mavs frontcourt rotation: the Bosnian Beast scored 18, while Gafford, Lively, Washington, Kleber, and Marshall combined for just 21. It wasn’t so much about the points Nurkić scored but when and how he scored them. In less than a 15-minute span—from 5:10 remaining in the second quarter until 2:50 left in the third—Nurkić scored 16 points, bullying every Maverick big man inside or on the block. It was during this stretch that the Mavericks finally made shots (5-of-11 from three), but instead of making a run, they only managed to stay even.