The Phoenix Suns got back in the win column with a 120-111 triumph over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at Mortgage Matchup Center.
A win is a win.
Phoenix, which had hit a bit of a rough patch recently, needed that W in the worst way — especially with a visit from the defending league champion and owners of the best record in the league looming.
But it had to be one of the least satisfying wins in recent memory.
Phoenix played outstanding basketball on both ends in building a 31-point lead in the second quarter. Dillon Brooks hit a 15-foot jumper to put the Suns up by their largest margin. Then, the game changed. Or at least the way the game was officiated did. For the remaining four-plus minutes of the quarter, Dallas was able to trim 14 points off the Phoenix lead. They shot eight free throws to the Suns’ two.
In the third quarter, Dallas took 15 free throws. The Suns took one. In the fourth, as the Mavericks got the lead down to six, they shot 11 more free throws. Phoenix attempted six. For the game, Dallas had 44 attempts at the stripe. The Suns had nine. It’s the biggest free throw differential in an NBA game since the league halted operations in March of 2020 for a global pandemic.
Phoenix fans at Mortgage Matchup Center groan or flat-out boo when they hear the name ‘Scott Foster’ announced as the night’s crew chief. I’m wondering when that becomes the reaction when Phoenix faithful hear the name ‘Tyler Ford’ in the pregame lead-up.
Ford was the crew chief earlier this season in the Lakers’ messy win over the Suns that featured LeBron James making contact with an official twice during a scrap and nothing happened. The Lakers, who had 18 more free throws than Phoenix that night, won by two.
Weird whistle trends just seem to follow Ford around, especially when he’s in the Valley.
