On December 26, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA Christmas Game ushered in the finale, and the Phoenix Suns hosted the Dallas Mavericks. The Suns have suffered a two-game losing streak recently and are currently 14-14 in 10th place in the West. Speaking on ESPN's pre-game show, Woj talked about Durant's frustration with the lack of help and the team's lineup. It's true that the Suns spent a lot of money to get Beal, but Beal has only played in 6 games this season, and the Big 3 have really combined for less than 7 minutes. For the Suns, their championship window is short, and if they can't play a strong ** soon, the team is likely to be at risk of falling apart.
The Mavericks actually have similar troubles, and Irving, another core of the team, has also been injured for a long time this season, and many games have been led by Doncic alone, which has also led to an inconsistent record, losing 4 of the last 6 games, and the ranking has slipped all the way to 6th. In this game, Beal and Irving continued to be injured, Nurkic was also injured, and the Suns lined up Durant and Booker to lead the team, partnering with Gordon, Eubanks and AllenOn the Mavericks' side, Doncic continues to lead the team single-core, partnering Hardaway Jr., Jones, Lively and Exum.
In the first quarter of the game, Doncic was full of firepower, inside and outside, and one person blew up the Suns. He hit 5 of 6 shots in the quarter, including 3 3-pointers and scored 17 points, plus 3 rebounds and 4 assists, showing his core role to the fullest!Under his leadership, the Mavericks quickly widened the gap and led by 12 points at 36-24 in the first quarterIn this quarter, the Suns shot crazy 3-pointers from the outside, but the shooting percentage was average, only 3-of-11;Booker only scored 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, Durant scored 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting, and the other players of the Suns double-core dumb fire failed to go toe-to-toe with Doncic, and it was reasonable to fall behind by a large score in the first quarter
In the second quarter, the Suns didn't pick up significantly, but the Mavericks' scoring momentum slowed down. In this quarter, the Mavericks continued to bet on the outside, making only 4 of 13 shots, and the Suns didn't have a high shooting percentage, only 3 of 10, but they hit the inside and got a lot of free throws. Booker scored nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and 4-of-4 free throws in the quarterDurant was 0-of-4 in the quarter and relied on free throws to score four pointsAt halftime, the two teams were tied at 64-54, and the Mavericks entered the second half with a 10-point advantage
Yibian fought again, Durant took the lead in making an emergency stop, Hardaway Jr. assisted Jones to hit a 3-pointer, and then the scores of the two sides rose alternately, and the difference between the points always hovered at 10 points, and the battle reached 73-62, Gordon suddenly hit a 3-point shot to chase the difference to only 4 points, and directly stopped the Mavericks;After the timeout, Doncic turned around and hit a back-to-back shot, and the battle reached 77-71 The Suns began to chase the score, Metu dunked in the air, Allen continued to score 3 points, Metu made 2 free throws and 2 hits, and then made a basket, Allen hit 2 3-pointers in a row, and the Suns led by 5 points in a wave of attack!But in the final minute of the quarter, the Mavericks chased four points in a row, and the Suns led by one point at 92-91 in the third quarter
In the final quarter, Durant began to exert his strength, first came up and took the lead in throwing and shooting, and then made 3 fouls and 3 free throws, Exum hit a quick stop, Doncic continued to score 3 points, Durant assisted Allen to return 1 3-pointer, Williams turned around and hit a jumper, Booker assisted Metu to catch a dunk, Doncic scored 3 points again, and the Suns asked for a timeout;After the timeout, the Mavericks went on a 5-0 run to open up the difference, and Hardaway Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the outside, and the Suns asked for a timeout againAfter a timeout, the Mavericks withstood the Suns' comeback, winning 128-114 to win two in a row and deliver a three-game losing streak.
Statistics: Doncic made 8 3-pointers in this game to tie the record of the Christmas game, scoring 50 points, 6 boards, 14 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks, Jones 23 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, Hardaway Jr. 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, Lively 20 points, 10 rebounds and 1 assist, Exum 7 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists;
On the Suns' side, Allen scored 32 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Booker 20 points, 3 rebounds and 10 assists, Durant 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Gordon 14 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, Eubanks 2 points and 7 boards, and Metu 23 points, 19 rebounds and 2 assists. Sports Premiere Creation Challenge