SB Nation Arizona - Suns Fall To Dirk-Less Mavericks, 93-87https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2012-01-23T21:22:32-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/24931452012-01-23T21:22:32-07:002012-01-23T21:22:32-07:00Despite Gortat, Suns Lose To Mavs, 93-87
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<p>The <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Phoenix Suns</a> seemed to have had some good luck on their brutal road swing: neither the <a href="https://www.blogabull.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Bulls</a> nor the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Mavericks</a> faced Planet Orange with their star players on the court. Unfortunately for Steve Nash and company, neither <span>Derrick Rose</span> nor Dirk Nowitzki was needed.</p>
<p>With Nowitzki sitting because of a sore knee, the Mavs downed Phoenix in a 93-87 game that was not as close as the final score might suggest. At one point, Dallas was up by 15 points, propelled by former Sun Shawn Marion's kick-back game wherein he led all scorers with 29 points, including hitting 4 of his 6 three-point attempts.</p>
<p>On the positive side, Phoenix had a 52-42 rebounding edge, bolstered by 17 rebounds (and 19 points) from Marcin Gortat as part of his eighth-straight double-double, but the team shot a season-low 37% from the field, including 30% from behind the arc -- poor accuracy from distance that's become typical for Phoenix this year.</p>
<p><b>More: <a href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/1/23/2729006/phoenix-suns-out-gunned-shawn-marion-dallas-mavericks-lose?utm_source=article&utm_medium=position2&utm_campaign=relatedlinks"><i>The Good, Bad, and Ugly from last nights loss to Mavericks</i></a></b></p>
<p>Outside of Gortat's continued strong play, Grant Hill had a breakout performance with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals, but he was also solely responsibly for 8 of Phoenix's 19 turnovers. Rookie Markieff Morris, in the starting lineup, tallied 7 points and 11 boards, Shannon Brown notched 14 points of his own off the pine, and Steve Nash had 12 assists in the losing effort.</p>
<p>Contributing to the loss were the usual suspects for the 2011-2012 Phoenix Suns: poor ball protection, poor shooting, and poor bench play. Coach <span>Alvin Gentry</span> has shuffled his starting lineup of late -- including inserting Morris and Ronnie Price into the starting five and moving Jared Dudley and Channing Frye to the bench -- but no combination seems to give the team the bench production that spoiled Gentry in the 2009-2010 season that saw them make the Western Conference Finals.</p>
<p>The loss in Dallas ends the team's road swing and they'll face the <a href="https://www.raptorshq.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Toronto Raptors</a> next, back home at US Airways Center, tomorrow night. For more Phoenix Suns coverage, head over to SB Nation's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com">Bright Side of the Sun</a> blog.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2012/1/23/2729108/phoenix-suns-vs-dallas-mavericks-dirk-nowitzki-marcin-gortatJustin Burning2012-01-23T14:14:20-07:002012-01-23T14:14:20-07:00Suns Fall To Dirk-Less Mavericks, 93-87
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<p>Sloppy play and former Sun Shawn Marion put an end to the Suns' two-game winning streak, without Dirk Nowitzki.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Phoenix Suns</a> (6-9) have won two out of two games on their five game road trip with a very nice chance of coming home 3-2 for the trip. They face the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Mavericks</a> (10-7) Monday night who will be without their star <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span> who is sitting out four games with a sore <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/1/22/2725011/dirk-nowitzki-dallas-mavericks-conditioning/in/2489041" target="_blank">right knee / poor conditioning</a>.</p>
<p>The Suns caught a break in Chicago when <span>Derrick Rose</span> was out with a foot problem. The Suns lost. They caught a break in Boston with <span>Rajon Rondo</span> was out with a wrist problem. The Suns won. That sets up this game as the tie-breaker for both the overall road trip record and as the rubber match facing teams without their best player.</p>
<p>Helping the Suns even just a little more, they are coming off two full days of rest for the first time this season. The Mavericks last played Saturday, just barely edging New Orleans 83-81.</p>
<p><b>Projected lineups:</b></p>
<p>It looks like <span>Alvin Gentry</span> will stick with changes to his starting lineup.</p>
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<li>Point guard: <span>Steve Nash</span> -- <span>Jason Kidd</span> </li>
<li>Shooting guard: <span>Ronnie Price</span> -- <span>Delonte West</span> </li>
<li>Small forward: <span>Grant Hill</span> -- <span>Shawn Marion</span> </li>
<li>Power forward: <span>Markieff Morris</span> -- <span>Lamar Odom</span> </li>
<li>Center: <span>Marcin Gortat</span> -- <span>Brendan Haywood</span> </li>
<li>Key subs: Suns (<span>Channing Frye</span>, <span>Shannon Brown</span>, <span>Michael Redd</span>, <span>Jared Dudley</span>,<span>Robin Lopez</span>). Mavs (<span>Jason Terry</span>, <span>Ian Mahinmi</span>, <span>Brandan Wright</span>, <span>Rodrigue Beaubois</span>)</li>
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<div>The Morris - Odom match up should be another fun one for the kid who's hopefully recovered from his flu bug. Starting point guard Ronnie Price along with Steve Nash at first seemed to be...questionable. But it's turned out well so far with Price adding a bit more play-making early in games and a lot more defensive energy to the back court. As long as the Suns keep playing teams with small shooting guards (like the Mavs) it makes sense.</div>
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<p><b>TV Broadcast info:</b></p>
<p>The game tips at 6:30 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports Arizona and on the radio at Arizona Sports 620. Live game thread will be available at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Bright Side of the Sun</a>.</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/1/23/2726481/phoenix-suns-at-dallas-mavericks-game-preview-road-home">Phoenix Suns At Dallas Mavericks Game Preview: The Road Home - Bright Side Of The Sun</a><br>if the Suns hope to finish off their road trip with a win against Dallas before returning back home to play the <a href="https://www.raptorshq.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Toronto Raptors</a> tomorrow, the Suns will need to keep their energy and intensity high and continue to play great defense like they did over their last two games. The Mavericks are still a dangerous team even when Dirk-less, so the Suns need to come out strong and keep the pressure on throughout the game.</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-suns/2012/1/23/2728056/phoenix-suns-vs-dallas-mavericks-tv-schedule-lineupsSeth Pollack