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Sports

Mavs shoot for 6 straight with Suns in town

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Mavericks are back in Big D following a perfect road trip and shoot for a sixth straight win Friday versus the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks won all four games on their recent trip against Eastern Conference foes and recorded a 107-105 victory in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Monta Ellis buried a jumper at the buzzer for the win and finished with 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

Ellis poured in a season-high 38 points in a double-overtime win at Chicago the night before.

"(Monta) is an All-Star, flat out," said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. "The load he has taken on during this trip has been phenomenal."

Tyson Chandler registered his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 20 rebounds against the Bucks, while Chandler Parsons scored 14 points and both Al-Farouq Aminu and Jameer Nelson had 13. Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki did not play to rest and is averaging 19.6 points.

The Mavs used a 13-0 run to grab a 72-68 advantage and held the Bucks to just 14 points in the third quarter. Milwaukee went on an 18-8 run in the fourth quarter for a 98-90 advantage, but Dallas outscored Milwaukee 12-1 for a 102-99 edge. After Brandon Knight's jump shot made it 105-105, Ellis hit the game-winning basket.

Dallas had a 52-40 advantage in the paint and is 11-2 in the last 13 games.

The Mavs are first in the NBA with 110.2 points per game and fourth with a 47.8 field goal percentage. They are averaging 112.8 ppg during the five-game winning streak. All five games have been decided by seven points or fewer.

Milwaukee will visit Dallas on Sunday. The Mavericks are 7-2 at home.

Phoenix will play its next three games on the road against Dallas, Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers, and is 5-4 away from the desert.

The Suns ended a two-game slide with Tuesday's 116-99 triumph over the Indiana Pacers and were led by Goran Dragic's season-high 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Eric Bledsoe followed with a season-best 27 points and both Markieff Morris and Gerald Green netted 15.

Phoenix, which had a season-high 38 fast break points, shot 50 percent for the game and made 12-of-25 3-pointers. It used a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter for a 106-88 lead. Dragic scored six points and Bledsoe added four during the decisive spurt.

"They got into a flow tonight, they were aggressive," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "This is how we think they can play."

The Suns are first in the NBA with 18.2 fast break points per game and have won 25 games in a row when shooting 50 percent or better. Dragic has been playing well the last two games and is averaging 28.0 points in that short window. He leads the Suns with 15.5 ppg.

Suns reserve guard Isaiah Thomas has missed the last four games with an ankle injury and is questionable Friday. Thomas is in his first season with the Suns and is averaging 15.5 ppg.

Phoenix lost two of three contests against Dallas last season and is 4-16 in the previous 20 meetings between the teams. The Suns have lost 11 of the past 12 visits to Big D.