Jan 4, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) celebrates with teammates Devin Booker (1) and Jordan Goodwin (23) against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesTanner TortorellaWed, February 11, 2026 at 3:07 AM UTC·4 min readPHOENIX – Twice in the Phoenix Suns past four games, they have shot under 40% from the field. The offense was in a rut, but head coach Jordan Ott didn’t seem worried about it following Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Tuesday proved he was right not to be. In the first half against the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix was nearly shooting 60% from the midway through the second quarter before a cold streak put a damper on its percentage.
Dillon Brooks remains scorching hot, dropping 15 first quarter points and 17 overall. Jalen Green, in his second game back, seemed to back in the mojo getting nine points and two assists in the first half. Outside of rookie sensation Cooper Flagg’s 15 points and a late run, Dallas was lucky to not be down more with a complete lack of effort shown to find itself down 65-48.
Feb 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) during the first half of an NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrooks and Suns dominant with red-hot shooting:
The Mavericks tried to find the mismatch on Collin Gillespie defensively. The first few possessions saw Dallas have P.J. Washington trying to take advantage of his size on Gillespie, but the Phoenix guard didn’t bulge leading them to score its first field goal midway through the opening quarter.
Once Dallas went away from trying overpower Gillespie, it tried to find its stroke from the perimeter. Multiple airballs later would show that wouldn’t be the answer either, shooting zero-of-nine in the frame.
The Suns had better early success compared to last game. After missing 18 3s during Saturday’s game, Devin Booker started by making his first two shots beyond the arc to set the tone. Dillon Brooks continued his hot shooting streak, scoring eight of the team’s first 13 points.
Dec 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPhoenix looked to be running away with a 12 point lead early, but careless turnovers and poor rebounding led to Dallas getting numbers off the break and getting into a rhythm. Three of the Mavericks first four field goals came off poor transition defense.
Head coach Jordan Ott called a timeout to try refocus the team, and Brooks took full advantage. The 30-year-old would score seven of the team’s next nine points and take his first quarter total to 15 points. Brooks shot seven-of-nine from the field, and once he head to the bench with two minutes left, it became the Jalen Green show.
The 23-year-old was wheeling and dealing by getting his spots in the mid-range, driving to the basket and hitting some flashy passes. For a team that has shot under 40% twice this past week, they ended the first quarter shooting 57.1% and up 36-17.
2nd quarter:
Despite both teams having two days off, the Mavericks looked to be a step behind the Suns in the first, and the second quarter was even worse. The bench unit led by Gillespie started the frame on a 11-2 run with straight hustle plays on long rebounds and backdoor cuts, which Dallas was consistently behind.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn just under 15 in-game minutes, Phoenix found itself up 27 and in amidst a massive bounce back performance from its two game losing streak. The bench lineup racked up 25 bench points in the first half, just eight points behind their game average. And 11 offensive rebounds turning into 14 second chance points.
Feb 7, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dribbles against San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
The lead reached up to 31, before Flagg and the starters erupted. The 19-year-old and forward Naji Marshall used their size and speed to get to the basket. Center Daniel Gafford blocked shots on back-to-back possessions that led to fastbreak layups. Flagg and Marshall combined for 27 points to fuel a 18-1 run.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Suns would get a Royce O’Neal 3 to gift some life to end the half to make it a 17-point game, but the Mavericks have finally woken up.
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