Kyrie Irving, Mavs Excite NBA Fans in Win vs. Kevin Durant, Suns with Luka Dončić Out | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Kyrie Irving’s 20 points led five Dallas Mavericks players in double-digit scoring en route to a 98-89 road win on Friday evening.

The Mavs benefitted from that balanced scoring attack in their first game without Luka Dončić after the superstar was diagnosed with a left calf strain suffered on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dončić will be re-evaluated in one month, per ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon.

Dallas was in full control of this game, though. The Mavs never trailed and led by as many as 18 points. They benefitted from Phoenix’s cold shooting night, which featured the team scoring just 14 points in the second quarter and 25 points apiece in the first, third and fourth quarters.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting for the Suns, who posted 54 points on 32.8 percent shooting otherwise. Bradley Beal had a tough evening, scoring 11 on 5-of-18 shooting.

Daniel Gafford started in place of Dereck Lively II (left hip contusion) and had 16 points and five rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber scored 15 apiece off the bench.

This game also featured a third quarter fightwhich ended with Suns center Jusuf Nurkić and Mavs forwards Naji Marshall and PJ Washington getting ejected. Nurkić and Marshall confronted each other, and the Suns big man slapped the Mavs forward in the head. Marshall then swung at Nurkić before Washington shoved Nurkić to the court. Cooler heads quickly prevailed as the refs helped break up the situation.

With the win, the Mavs moved to 20-11, good enough for fourth place in the Western Conference. Navigating the short-term future without Dončić will certainly be challenging, but Dallas has notably excelled when forced to play without the five-time All-NBA player earlier this year.

The Mavs ultimately passed their first full test in this stretch with flying colors, impressing fans with their effort.