Mavs Eliminate Suns From Playoff Contention

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DALLAS — With a late push, the Dallas Mavericks topped Phoenix 107-104 Wednesday and officially snuffed out the Suns’ playoff hopes.

Mavs shooting guard Monta Ellis scored a team-high 20 points, including a driving layup in a 6-0 run that gave Dallas the lead for good down the stretch at American Airlines Center.

Dallas power forward Dirk Nowitzki added 19 points and drilled a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left that helped nail down the win.

“It was a clutch shot by him and that was the difference,” Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said.

The Mavericks missed their previous 10 3-pointers, with Nowitzki offering up an airball on the previous possession.

The Suns (39-40) were eliminated from the playoff race despite a season-high, 30-point effort from reserve guard Gerald Green. Phoenix beat Dallas in the previous three meetings before a late-season fade of seven losses in the past eight games.

The Suns will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

“We’re going to keep our heads up,” Green said. “We’re still going to finish out the

season strong. We have a few more games left. Obviously, this is a big disappointment for us, but we’re planning on finishing the season strong and hopefully we can build on this for next season.”

The Mavericks (47-31) didn’t have much to play for in the standings coming off three-day break during which they clinched a playoff spot. Dallas is locked into the Western Conference’s seventh seed for the postseason, unable to move up or down during the last week of the season.

Still, the Mavs want to use the last few games to establish momentum.

“We are just trying to develop a mentality that we want to continue to the playoffs,” said guard Devin Harris, who scored 12 off the bench. “We have five games left, and we really want to bring this home and establish ourselves on how we want to play and how we can be successful in the playoffs. We got off to a good start tonight.”

Mavs center Tyson Chandler had 23 rebounds and 12 points, point guard Rajon Rondo chipped in 12 points and dished out seven assists, and backup center Amar’e Stoudemire added 10 points. Dallas was without injured forward Chandler Parsons.

The Suns had their chances in a back-and-forth game one night after scoring only 69 points in a blowout loss at Atlanta. Green drilled five 3-pointers, the last giving Phoenix a 98-95 edge.

“We lost today, so it doesn’t really matter,” Green said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help my team win.”

Suns forward Markieff Morris had 19 points — only four in the second half — to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Point guard Eric Bledsoe scored 14.

The Mavericks were down 100-97 before rallying.

“I like the second half, and we have to build on the second half,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “They scored 63 points in the first half, 41 in the second half, which is obviously much better and much more of what we need preparing for the playoffs.”

The Suns rode Green’s 18 points in 14 first-half minutes to a 63-59 lead at halftime. The reserve knocked down seven of 12 shots — three of six from long distance — during a wild half that saw both teams shoot nearly 60 percent. Green finished the night 10-for-19 from the floor, 5-for-10 from 3-point range.

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