Suns find measure of revenge in rally over Mavs

PHOENIX -- The archetypal fractional of Wednesday night's play opener conjured up the still-fresh achy feelings from past spring's embarrassing playoff exit for the Phoenix Suns. Once again, the Suns were being dominated by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks astatine home.

That made the rally from a 22-point shortage for a 107-105 triumph astatine the Footprint Center that overmuch sweeter for the Suns.

"If you get your asses kicked, you privation to get your get-back," Devin Booker told ESPN's Jorge Sedano during the postgame on-court interview, acknowledging the humiliation from a 33-point blowout nonaccomplishment successful Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. "That's conscionable life.

"We inactive person 81 games to go. I said that earlier the game. It's a bully start. I deliberation it's a bully commencement to amusement our squad if we're down aboriginal that we tin travel backmost successful games."

The Suns earned the apical wide effect past play successful ample portion owed to their closing ability, arsenic they were an NBA-best 33-9 successful clutch games, arsenic defined by the people being wrong 5 points successful the last 5 minutes. In that sense, this was benignant of a diagnostic show for Phoenix.

But this comeback had deeper meaning for the Suns, whose chaotic offseason that started with that atrocious nonaccomplishment to the Mavs included proprietor Robert Sarver putting the squad up for merchantability nether unit successful the aftermath of scandal, tense declaration negotiations with halfway Deandre Ayton that yet ended with the Suns matching a maximum connection expanse helium signed with the Indiana Pacers and erstwhile starting guardant Jae Crowder mutually agreeing with absorption not to study for the last play of his contract, among different things. And, of course, the NBA scheduled the Mavs to instrumentality to Phoenix for the opener, a made-for-TV rematch of that memorable playoff series.

"I deliberation immoderate clip you triumph successful the NBA, it's cool," Suns manager Monty Williams said. "But to bushed the squad that knocked you out, it doesn't erase that feeling, that hurt, but it does assistance you grow."

The Mavs led by 15 with 8:31 remaining aft a scoring flurry by Dallas sixth antheral Christian Wood, who was acquired successful a summertime commercialized with the Houston Rockets. Wood scored 16 consecutive points for the Mavs successful a 4-minute, 35-second span that bridged the 3rd and 4th quarters, a tally that began aft Phoenix pulled wrong a point.

"We relaxed a small bit," said Doncic, who finished with 35 points, 9 rebounds and six assists but missed a 34-footer astatine the buzzer. "We think, not that the crippled was done, but we conscionable relaxed. 'It's a batch of points, we're going to get there, we're going to win.' Like I said, we conscionable can't relax. It's happened a batch of times. We can't beryllium blowing leads. This is simply a happening we person to enactment on, and we volition for sure."

Booker checked backmost into the crippled with the Suns down 15 and past had 7 of his 28 points and six of his 9 assists successful the 4th quarter. However, it was an improbable leader who starred for the Suns down the stretch. Damion Lee scored each 11 of his points successful the 4th fourth -- erstwhile helium played the full framework successful portion due to the fact that Cameron Johnson exited owed to cramping -- and deed the game-winning changeable connected a 10-foot fadeaway with 9.7 seconds remaining.

That crippled victor by Lee, who signed for the veteran's minimum aft serving arsenic a reserve for the champion Golden State Warriors, came connected the possession instantly aft helium gave up a tying and-1 thrust by Doncic. He received a little pep speech from Williams successful the ensuing timeout.

"Coach conscionable looks astatine maine and helium said: 'Hey, spell marque a play. Go marque a play,"' said Lee, who is present 2-of-9 connected game-tying oregon go-ahead tract goals successful the last infinitesimal during his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. "That's what you privation -- a manager that's ever going to instill that assurance successful you, nary substance what happens."

Another astonishing constituent of the Suns' fourth-quarter rally: Chris Paul, who has earned a estimation arsenic 1 of the NBA's premier regular-season closers, watched the last 6:41 from the bench.

The Suns trailed by 12 erstwhile Paul checked out, and Williams' program was to remainder the 37-year-old constituent defender for a fewer minutes earlier putting Paul backmost successful to decorativeness the game. However, Williams decided not to disrupt the bushed the Suns established with Cameron Payne astatine constituent defender down the stretch.

"I'm ever open-minded successful those situations," Williams said. "As overmuch arsenic you privation to person Chris retired there, I cognize Chris wants to win. When I took him out, my program was to get him backmost successful determination astatine 3 [minutes]. Then the crippled was conscionable going successful a bully mode and Cam was playing well, truthful I didn't privation to instrumentality him out. I didn't deliberation it was that large of a decision, but I conjecture it is due to the fact that it's Chris."