DALLAS — Isaiah Canaan and the Phoenix Suns were confident they could come back to win. After all, they had just done it two days ago.
Alex Len had 14 points and 14 rebounds to help Phoenix rally past the Dallas Mavericks 97-91 on Monday night for its second consecutive victory on the road.
“It’s a long game and it’s all about getting stops and converting on the other end,” Canaan said. “I told them when we get stops, the shots are going to fall in the second half and that’s what happened.”
T.J. Warren scored 19 points and Canaan added 17 as the Suns (11-21) improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip despite playing without injured guard Devin Booker. Phoenix erased a 15-point deficit Saturday in a 108-106 win against Minnesota.
“I just try to block out everything, work on my game and stay ready.” — Alex Len, who posted his 6th double-double in the @Suns‘ 97-91 victory over the #Mavs. pic.twitter.com/dKfS9KKIrE
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) December 19, 2017
Canaan, Len and Troy Daniels (12 points) all reached double figures off the bench as the Suns’ reserves outscored their Mavericks counterparts 55-28.
“It’s crazy. When they come in with that high energy, playing the right way, spacing the floor, it works a lot for us,” Warren said. “Continue to do that, it’s going to translate into wins.”
Dallas (8-23) lost its third straight game and has one win in its last seven.
“You have to give credit to Phoenix; they beat us badly,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Bad starts and poor finishes are the recipe for losses.”
Harrison Barnes had 26 points and Devin Harris added 14 for Dallas. Yogi Ferrell and Wesley Matthews each scored 13.
Check out these reactions from the @Suns bench on that big Alex Len dunk late, especially Greg Monroe, Jared Dudley and that #Mavs fan in the blue sweatshirt.
pic.twitter.com/QJtjrdoTV3
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) December 19, 2017
Phoenix came from behind and won the game in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense kept us in it again,” Suns interim coach Jay Triano said. “That was the key for us. … If we can keep playing good defense and make it tough for teams to score and rebound the ball the way we have been, we’ll figure out a way to score eventually.”
After the Suns had trailed for the entire second half, Canaan tied it 79-all on a 3-pointer with 7:29 remaining. Len gave Phoenix its first lead since the second quarter on a pair of free throws.
Phoenix led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, 89-81, but didn’t seal the victory until Warren made one of two free throws with 11.4 seconds remaining and knocked down two more with 5.6 seconds left.
It was the second consecutive game in which Dallas let a fourth-quarter lead slip away. San Antonio went on a 13-0 run Saturday over the final 4:11, including a game-winning basket by Manu Ginobili for a 98-96 victory.
Canaan ball!@Suns turning 'D' into 'O' real quick and Isaiah Canaan cashes in from deep. pic.twitter.com/71OtuhLFrQ
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) December 19, 2017
“Execution is a big part of it,” Harris said. “Tonight we gave up too many paint points, especially in the fourth quarter.”
TIP-INS
Booker missed his sixth game with a left adductor strain. … Tyson Chandler was the starting center on the Mavericks’ 2011 NBA championship team.
UP NEXT
Suns visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
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