--Dallas went into Sunday 6-5 in its last 11 games. The record broke down as 6-0 against teams with losing records and 0-5 against those with winning marks.

The win over Phoenix was huge from that standpoint. To beat a team with more wins than losses on the road wasn't lost on the Mavs.

"It was very physical and the game had a great meaning," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "These kinds of games come down to will and toughness, and I give our guys a lot of credit.

"Our shots weren't falling all night. We struggled with turnovers early and to just hang in and come in to huddles and talking about how we're going to get it done, that's progress for us and we've just got to keep building on that."

--The Mavs dug a hole for themselves in the first quarter Sunday, turning the ball over six times and falling behind by as many as 12 points.

Dallas did much better protecting the ball from there, with only nine more turnovers the rest of the game. The Suns actually had more when it was over, 16-15.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We won that game with our defense and it's good to know that we can still do that." -- Dirk Nowitzki, after Sunday's win at Phoenix.

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