PHOENIX – After blowing a 20-point lead in their Friday night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns needed a big boost in their home opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

That’s exactly what they did.

The Suns improved their season record to 2-1 with a 114-102 victory over Dallas and won their third straight home opener. Phoenix has now won the last 21 of 28 meetings against the Mavericks.

Without Bradley Beal (elbow) and Grayson Allen (personal), the Suns were forced to change their rotations against a fairly healthy Dallas squad.

Rookie Ryan Dunn got his first NBA start, while Royce O’Neale and Damion Lee saw increases in minutes.

It was a much-needed win for Phoenix, which moved over .500 and started a brief two-game home run on the right foot.

The Suns took a 28:26 lead after the first quarter despite 13 early points from Luka Doncic. No other player on either team had more than six. Dallas converted on just 2-11 attempts from three-point territory.

Phoenix extended its lead to as many as 13 points in the second quarter, with Jusuf Nurkic scoring 12 points in the period. Durant wasn’t far behind with nine in the second period.

The Suns shot 43% from deep in the first half and hit nearly 48% of shots from the field to take the lead.

The third quarter proved to be the same story for Phoenix (three Suns in Dunn, Durant and Booker scored 5+ points), and the same went for the fourth quarter as the Suns jumped out to a 104-90 lead with just under seven minutes to play .

Despite a handful of three-pointers from Thompson and Doncic late to keep things interesting, the Suns maintained their lead until the final whistle.

– Kevin Durant: 31 points, nine rebounds
– Jusuf Nurkic: 18 points, 14 rebounds
– Ryan Dunn: 13 points
– Devin Booker: 21 points, five assists

– Kyrie Irving: 22 points, five assists
– Luka Doncic: 40 points, 10 rebounds
– Klay Thompson: 19 points

The Suns return home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

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