The Suns finally pulled out a win in crunch time, 111-105, over a struggling Dallas team that needed a win desperately. Chris Paul proved that the trade was more than worth it (looking at you Charles Barkley).

1st Half

Phoenix jumped out to a hot start behind a quick 8-point scoring outburst from Jae Crowder early on. This led to a Dallas timeout after Phoenix pulled ahead 13-7 with 7:23 remaining in the 1st.

Tim Hardaway Jr. matched the streaky Crowder by scoring 10 points within the first 8 minutes of the game to keep Dallas afloat.

Ayton took a shot from James Johnson early and looked to be hurt as he headed to the bench and missed the rest of the 1st quarter, but he returned with 9:48 left in the 2nd.

Dallas cut the lead down to just one point heading into the 2nd quarter at 29-28.

The second quarter went back and forth for quite some time, as neither team could pull ahead and traded buckets until Dallas went on a run around the six minute mark to pull ahead by 8.

Luka picked up two quick fouls and then a technical that put him on the bench with 3 minutes left in the half.

Mikal Bridges made a few nice transition cuts that led to easy buckets and tied the game at 51 after a 8-to-1 Phoenix run. The score was 55 to 55 heading into the half.

2nd Half

Dallas pulled ahead by 15 with 6 minutes left and Phoenix struggled to score as they only put up 6 points in the first six minutes of the third quarter.

Luka started to heat up and took over for a bit, but Phoenix fought back to cut it to 11 before Dallas called a timeout.

Entering the 4th quarter the score was 82-77 with Phoenix trailing.

The Suns came out hot and went on an 8-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, then Dallas answered and brought the game back to the see-saw battle it had been all night.

Chris Paul entered Point God mode and decided he wanted the Suns to win, so they did. Simple as that. That is why you traded for the 10x All-Star. Deandre Ayton also had a big night chipping in with 18 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.

Star of the Game

Chris Paul- 29 points, 12 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, 12/13 FT’s.

Up next: Phoenix @ Dallas, Monday at 6:30 PM on NBATV.