Devin Booker on being surrounded by young players on Suns
Devin Booker, once a young phenom, is now a veteran surrounded by young players: “It’s a lot of jokes.”
DALLAS — The Phoenix Suns continue to roll, topping the short-handed Dallas Mavericks, 123-114, Wednesday, Nov. 12 before a sellout crowd of 19,501 at American Airlines Center.
The Suns (7-5) have won their last four games and are 6-1 in their last seven games.
Devin Booker scored a game-high 26 points to lead six Suns in double figures. Grayson Allen added 23 points, going 4-of-9 from distance, another solid performance after his career-high 42-point effort in the Nov. 10 home victory over the Pelicans fueled by a career-best 10 made 3s.
Dillon Brooks delivered 18 points, Royce O’Neale and Jordan Goodwin each scored 13 and Mark Williams added 10 for the surging Suns.
Phoenix connected on 14-of-35 shots from 3 and scored 31 points off 21 Dallas turnovers.
Klay Thompson paced the struggling Mavs (3-9) with 19 points off the bench. Brandon Williams scored 17 points and rookie Cooper Flagg added 16 on 6-of-15 shooting.
The Suns return home to face the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 13 in the second of a back-to-back at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Here are takeaways from Wednesday’s game.
“We were in a good spot last year at this time.”
Suns 8-1 last season after beating Mavs as Devin Booker was asked difference between last season and this season: “We’re not getting too happy around here, but we are playing with pride and playing with urgency.” #Suns #MFFL pic.twitter.com/l8HIqoJyBB
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 13, 2025Making 3s and forcing turnovers
The Suns do more than just make 3s and force turnovers, but they’re doing those two things at an elite level right now.
Phoenix is third in the NBA in 3-pointers made per game at 16.3, fifth in attempts from distance at 42.1 and fifth in 3-point percentage at 38.6%. The Suns attempted and made fewer 3s on Wednesday, but they’ve shot at least 40% from deep in their last three games.
Defensively, Phoenix is fifth in forcing turnovers at 16.8 a game and eighth in points off turnovers. The Suns exceeded both of those averages against the Mavericks.
Having two players on career-best heaters to start the season in O’Neale and Allen certainly fuels Phoenix’s distance production.
O’Neale is shooting 45.3% while Allen is at 45.5%.
“We just stayed poised. Got the stops. Made plays on the offensive end.”
Royce O’Neale after 123-114 win over Dallas as Suns extended their win streak to four games.
“Everybody is just coming ready to play. Next man up mentality.” #Suns #MFFL pic.twitter.com/g0OEaFe50h
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 13, 2025
Playing hard, with aggressiveness and with improving discipline is leading to generating turnovers, but the Suns see the rewards in getting transition opportunities and scoring.
Phoenix had 13 steals against the Mavs.
The Suns and Detroit Pistons are tied for second in steals at 10.4 a game. Only the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder is averaging more at 10.8.
Now, is this sustainable for Phoenix?
Better yet, can Phoenix sustain this against tougher opposition?
The Suns have only beaten one team with a winning record in the 8-3 San Antonio Spurs.
Phoenix’s remaining six wins are over the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers (twice), Pelicans and Mavericks.
Those five teams have a combined 15-42 record.
The Suns will find out soon enough how much they need to take and make 3s and how they need to score off a ton of turnovers to beat the better NBA teams.
Is Flagg doing too much?
In the Las Vegas Summer League, the 18-year-old Flagg looked every bit the part of the top overall pick. He is a young, athletic talent who, at 6-9, has good size, better-than-solid handles and plays with energy and aggression.
He still has all those traits and qualities. The difference now? Flagg is facing experienced NBA players, isn’t winning as he did at Duke and is having to do entirely too much.
The Blue Devils lost just four games in Flagg’s one-and-done year. The Mavericks have already dropped nine in 12 games and are next to last in the West.
Flagg may have a great body, but it’s an 18-year-old body that hasn’t had a full summer in an NBA weight room to prepare for an 82-game season. He looked fatigued at times. Can’t blame him.
The Mavericks have given him the ball to run the show. He’s having to initiate the offense and start his attack from further out, which requires more energy.
So, he didn’t finish a two-handed dunk like he did so ferociously in college. The lift on Flagg’s shot wasn’t consistently there Wednesday. Flagg scored 16 points on 15 field goal attempts (made six with three coming from 3).
Having a right thumb sprain could be an issue, but Flagg went 3-of-7 from distance. He added six assists, three steals and two blocks.
That swat of Booker’s layup in the first quarter? Oh, Flagg went up and got that one, but he also had four turnovers.
Flagg should be finishing plays, not initiating them. Flagg should be running the floor and filling the lanes to receive the pass, take two steps and finish with authority.
He’s going to be so much better when Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis return from injury.
Will Williams play second of back-to-back?
Williams said after Monday’s win over the Pelicans he can’t wait to play both games of a back-to-back, but he didn’t know if that was going to be the case this week. Suns coach Jordan Ott said after Wednesday’s win they plan to see how Williams feels to help determine if the 7-footer sees action Thursday against the Pacers.
“It’s cool. When he gets to like five or six, you can tell it’s one of those nights. It was dope to see, especially when he got the record.”
Suns big Mark Williams on Grayson Allen hitting a career-high 10 3s (Suns single-game record) on career-high 42-point night in win over… pic.twitter.com/HVBUT7eaTM
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 11, 2025
Indiana is 1-10. The Suns shouldn’t need Williams for this one. They’ve got three more bigs in Nick Richards, Oso Ighodaro and rookie 7-footer Khaman Maluach.
This may have been an easier decision for Ott to play Williams against the Pacers had the big sat the entire fourth quarter Wednesday, but the Mavs made it enough of a game that Ott checked Williams back in with Phoenix up 12 points with 7:34 remaining.
Williams wound up with a huge block of Brandon Williams’ 3 with Phoenix up five with 1:08 remaining to help put the game away.
It’s hard to believe Ott hasn’t mapped out whether Williams is playing the second of a back-to-back when considering he’s always saying the team “has a plan.”
However, plans can change.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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