Mavericks-Suns: 5 takeaways as Kevin Durant surpasses 29,000 career points

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PHOENIX — The last time the Suns played an official game at the Footprint Center, they stepped on a banana peel and lost four straight to Minnesota in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Frank Vogel called it “disappointing” and “there’s no other way to put it.”

He was the head coach at the time. He isn't now.

To say the Suns are aiming for bigger things now would be understating the obvious. If it's possible to feel a sense of urgency at a home opener, that was the case Saturday, as the Suns appeared eager to set the tone for 2024-25.

Well, the first sign was ominous: Bradley Beal was sidelined with a sore elbow on a team that struggled with injuries for most of last season.

But at the end of the night, after a thorough, if not dominant, loss to the Mavericks, all was well.

Here are five takeaways from this 114-102 result and a home start that the Suns hope becomes commonplace.

1. Durant reaches milestone

He didn't need to drop 31 points to secure his place among the top scorers in NBA history, but it did strengthen his credentials.

Kevin Durant's team performance brought him to over 29,000 career points. Only seven others have managed to clear that threshold, and Durant is still getting big hits.

He really is a marvel, comfortable anywhere on the floor and is not one dimensional in any way. At 36, Durant appears to have two or three golden years left in him, perhaps even more because shooters are traditionally the last to go.

“It’s a tribute to a generational talent,” said Suns coach Mike Budenholzer. “He gets into great spots to shoot and score against tough defenses. He’s done that pretty much his entire career.”

2. Do the Mavs see a tougher path ahead?

When Dallas reached the NBA Finals last season, it was rightly viewed as a breakthrough for the franchise here in the Luka Dončić era. Kyrie Irving arrived to give him a co-star, the Mavs provided frontline help at the trade deadline and played in June.

But in another sense, the Mavs took advantage of their health – their own good health and the injuries suffered by other contenders, particularly the team that beat them on Saturday.

Devin Booker, Durant and Beal played together for exactly half of the 2023-24 regular season. The Suns had a 26-15 record in those games. Had the three core stars remained reasonably healthy, Phoenix would have won more than 50 games and enjoyed more favorable playoff placement and matchups.

And it's not just the suns; The Grizzlies also struggled with a number of injuries and failed to make the playoffs despite winning more than 50 games in each of the previous two seasons.

Assuming everyone is in good health this season, the competition just got tougher for Dallas. And with that the Mavs' chances of becoming West champions also increased.

3. With Beal out, Dunn shows his strength

From the Suns' perspective, there's no reason to worry; Beal battled a sore left elbow and decided to rest. Still, he missed 29 games last season as Phoenix's lack of depth proved costly.

With Beal out Saturday, Budenholzer decided to bring in a rookie — Ryan Dunn, the Suns' first-round pick, whose job was to guard Luka.

The cold facts? Dunn held Luka to 40 points.

But the truth went beyond the numbers. Dunn was actually impressive, or as impressive as a rookie can be against last season's league scoring champion and MVP candidate.

The Suns traded down to take Dunn at No. 28. He is 1.90 meters tall, has defensive qualities and shone in the preseason. Ideally, he'll make up for what the Suns lost when they dealt Mikal Bridges – coincidentally for Durant.

“Great night for Ryan,” Budenholzer said. “This is one of the best players in the league he has played against. He gets the chance to go into the lab and learn from it. His defense and athleticism were positives. His 3 in the fourth was huge. He shoots it with confidence.”

Dunn is valuable to the Suns in another way too – financially. He's a rookie on a cheap contract for a team with a bunch of three players. For teams like this, bringing in better players in trades is a challenge, and free agency is out of the question.

It's better to be able to design and develop around Durant, Beal and Booker. In that sense, Dunn is already an asset.

4. Bosnian Beast recovers

Jusuf Nurkić looked shaky the night before in LA against Anthony Davis, who did whatever he wanted in the Lakers' comeback win.

So Nurk needed another chance to make an impact at the start of the season – which he did, and quite emphatically. Aside from Durant, Nurk was the Suns' most influential player on the floor.

That he did it against the Mavs' collection of big men made it even more impressive. Nurkić had 18 points and 14 rebounds and there was little that Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington or Dereck Lively II could stop.

“He’s a great teammate and competitor,” Budenholzer said. “He wanted to come back and have that positive influence on us, and he did.”

Nurkić said: “My goal was simply to play better and help us win. That’s all that mattered.”

5. All is well between Klay, Luka, Kyrie

Chemistry class is a masterpiece in every way, according to the one vote that counts.

Klay Thompson's bond with Luka and Kyrie Irving was ideal from the start and only got smoother.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said. “A chance to work with great players and a great organization.”

Thompson appears to be fitting in well in two games: 11 of 22 shooting from distance and an average of 20 points. There is always a transition period when key players are first drafted, but due to the small sample size so far, it's almost as if they've been teammates for years.

“We can grow from this and get a lot better, and right now it’s really good,” Thompson said. “There is so much room for improvement. I am very encouraged by our mutual trust and potential.”

Praise Luka for that. As a resident MVP candidate and point guard, he has made Klay comfortable and learned the shooter's tendencies in a short amount of time.

“He’s easy,” Klay said. “He’s great.”

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Shaun Powell has been covering the NBA for more than 25 years. You can send him an email Herefind his archive here And Follow him on X.

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