Suns 98, Mavericks 92
Eric Bledsoe contributed 20 points, nine assists and three steals and Markieff Morris had 19 points and 13 rebounds as Phoenix defeated Dallas to record its fourth consecutive victory.
P.J. Tucker scored 15 points and Marcus Morris added 11 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Suns, who moved within 2 1/2 games of eighth-place Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the West. Alex Len added 10 points and three blocked shots for Phoenix.
Chandler Parsons scored 19 points and Amar’e Stoudemire added 16 points for Dallas, which fell one game behind sixth-place San Antonio in the Western Conference. Rajon Rondo scored 12 points while Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki had 11 points apiece for the Mavericks.
Dallas owned an 86-80 lead after Parsons’ basket with 7:13 to play before Phoenix scored the next seven and took a one-point on Archie Goodwin’s layup with 3:31 to play. Goodwin later hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with two minutes left to make it 91-88, Markieff Morris’ corner jumper made it a five-point margin with 29.9 seconds left and Bledsoe added four free throws to seal it.
Tucker scored all of his 15 points in the first half and the Suns led by as many as 17 before settling for a 57-42 lead at the break. Phoenix’s lead was again 17 four-plus minutes into the third quarter before Dallas rattled off 14 consecutive points and the Mavericks trailed 76-75 entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Dallas was 13-of-22 from the free-throw line and the Suns were slightly better at 14-of-23. … Ellis was 4-of-22 from field. … Bledsoe committed seven of Phoenix’s 21 turnovers.