• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Suns hold off late Mavericks rally

Dec 24, 2014 - 6:09 AM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Bledsoe picked up his second career triple-double to help the Suns hold off the Dallas Mavericks, 124-115, on Tuesday.

Bledsoe scored 16 points, handed out 11 assists and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in Phoenix's fourth straight win.

Goran Dragic paced the Suns with 25 points and Gerald Green added 22 off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

"I thought we were great, offensively and defensively," Bledsoe said. "We can't ask for a better game."

Tyson Chandler netted 22 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki also scored 22 as Dallas dropped its second in a row.

The Suns led by as many as 19 with 1 1/2 minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Mavericks were able to hang around in a wild fourth period.

With 1:41 remaining in the game, Dallas cut the Phoenix lead to single digits for the first time since the 8:40 mark in the third quarter. The Mavericks got the deficit to as little as seven with under a minute to go, but Phoenix hit 5-of-6 from the line to secure the win.

Both teams shot 60 percent from the floor and combined for 76 points over the final 12 minutes.

Dallas led by as much as 10 in the first half, but it committed 20 turnovers, which were converted into 28 points.

"We had too many (turnovers)," Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said. "Turnovers caught up with us and we're just struggling to defend. We've just got to do a better job with it."

After trailing 26-25 after one, the Suns were able to take over with a strong second quarter. Over the final six minutes of the half, the Suns outscored the Mavericks 23-6 to take a 53-45 lead into the break. Dragic scored 12 of his points in that run as Phoenix erased the persistent Dallas lead.

The Suns were able to expand their lead with hot shooting from beyond the arc in the third quarter. They shot 5-of-7 from 3-point range, led by P.J. Tucker making both his attempts in a nine-point quarter. Marcus Morris' buzzer- beating jumper helped Phoenix hold an 89-74 lead after three.

Game Notes

Phoenix improved to 2-0 in the five-game season series ... Dallas' Charlie Villanueva hit four 3-pointers to move past 600 in his NBA career ... Villanueva's 18 points were a season-high, as were Chandler's 22 ... The Suns outscored Dallas 32-18 on the fastbreak.