NBC 11 Sports: Suns bounce Mavs in season opener
Suns erase 22 point first half deficit in 107-105 win over Dallas in season and home opener
PHOENIX, Ariz. ( KYMA-KECY-TV ) - With the Suns and Dallas Mavericks tied at 105 with just over :30 seconds left to play in regulation on Wednesday night, Suns guard Damion Lee understood the NBA late game etiquette, dish the ball to the team's star for the final shot of the game.
Lee in bounded the ball to Deandre Ayton who slung to the top of the key to Devin Booker. Booker stood near half court as the game clock and shot clock dissolved under :20 seconds. Booker passed to the right wing to Lee who gave it back to Booker. Facing a double team, Booker gave it back to Lee with just under :15 seconds remaining and only :05 seconds left on the shot clock. Lee drove to his left, worked his way near the paint and put up a baseline fade away jumper with :11 seconds that found nothing but net, putting the home crowd at the Footprint Center into a frenzy.
"We called a timeout and Coach just looks at me and says, ‘go make a play.’ That’s what you want," Lee said. "A coach that’s always going to instill that confidence in you no matter what happens. As long as there is time left on the board, you’re going out there trying to make a positive impact and make a play.”
The Mav's Luka Doncic missed a three pointer as time expired securing the Suns 107-105 win. A hard fought win as the Suns trailed by 22 points in the first half.
“It’s one of those games where you just have to stay with it and live with the results," Head coach Monty Williams said. "I was just proud with the fact that we didn’t give in."
The win was a bit of revenge for the Suns and fan base that watched their season end on their home court to the Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals 123-90.
It was another season of championship expectations that came up short. Two years ago the Suns led the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 in the NBA Finals before watching the Bucks hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. Last season, the Suns ended the regular season with the NBA's best record, earned the #1 seed in the Western Conference but fell short yet again.
"It happens," Suns fan Sean Chacon said. "We’re not the first team this has happened to and we're not going to be the last team it happens to."
"What team hasn’t experienced difficult times," Suns fan Vincent Payan said. "Its an up and down season, gotta keep battling, never let the past keep you down, we’ll be back there, guaranteed."
That's exactly what the Suns did in the season opener. They battled and didn't let trailing by double digits multiple times get them down.
"We’ve been talking about that all of training camp," Williams said. "Like how can we deal with the emotional ups and downs of the game. I thought that helped us win the game tonight; we just stayed with it."
The Suns now hit the road and play in Portland on Friday night then head to Los Angeles and face the Clippers on Sunday. The Suns will next play at home against Golden State on Tuesday, October 25th.
