Unable to finish the job, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a 105-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night at Footprint Center.
Although they played without injured All-Star point guard Luka Doncic, the Mavs were neck-and-neck with the defending Western Conference champions all the way until the end. Here are our takeaways from the game that left the Mavs with a 9-5 record.
5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 105-98 LOSS TO SUNS
FOURTH QUARTER MELTDOWN: After looking so promising on defense through the first three quarters when they held the Suns to just 68 points, the Mavs took a giant step backwards defensively in the fourth quarter when Phoenix scored a whopping 37 points.