PHOENIX RISING
A WELL-TIMED DUNK PUTS SUNS OVER GRIZZLIES
Tyson Chandler learned of the Suns’ crafty inbounds play when Jay Triano took over as coach early this season. With 0.6 seconds left in a tie game Tuesday night, he asked Triano during a timeout if Phoenix was going to run it. Triano said yes. Dragan Bender and Chandler did the rest.
Bender threw a perfect pass at the rim from the opposite sideline, Chandler jumped over the Grizzlies’ Brandan Wright to slam it down with 0.4 seconds remaining, and the Suns beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-97.
After replay review for offensive goaltending, the basket counted, and the Grizzlies couldn’t get off a decent shot before the final buzzer.
“My job was to punch it in. It was close,” Chandler said. “It might have hit the back rim but I caught it over the cylinders because I knew there was no goaltending.” Triano described his plan. “I told our guy (Bender) to shoot the ball in the basket and all Tyson has to do is touch it on the way down or grab the rim and have it hit your knuckle and go in,” Triano said, explaining the no- goaltending-from-out-of-bounds rule that made the basket good.
Had Chandler not touched Bender’s pass and it went through the hoop, the basket would not have counted.
“He got a little push. They usually don’t call that stuff at the end of the game. I went up and my hand went under and through the rim, so it kind of messed my timing up a little bit,” Wright said. “I had to pull it back out because I didn’t want to get a goaltend. They just made a play, a perfect pass.”Devin Booker scored 32 points in his return from a threeweek injury absence before fouling out in the final minute, but the Suns needed one final play after Jarell Martin slammed in a rebound with 0.6 seconds remaining to tie it at 97.
The Suns beat the Grizzlies in a tight game at home for the second time in six days after handing them a 97-95 defeat on Dec. 21. Phoenix has won four of its last six games while Memphis has lost nine of 11.
In Dallas, J.J. Barea scored 20 points, including a clinching a layup in the final seconds, and the Mavericks ended another six-game winning streak by Toronto with a victory over the Raptors, 98-93.
The Mavericks held DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors to season lows in shooting percentage as Toronto lost for just the second time in 14 games, with each loss coming after six straight wins.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points and fellow German Maxi Kleber had 15 points and matched his rookie season best with five blocks. Harrison Barnes had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 23 points but didn’t score in the fourth quarter, while DeRozan couldn’t get going at all after averaging 37 points on a three-game road winning streak that ended.
In Milwaukee, Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 24 points in 28 minutes and the Bulls won for the eighth time in 10 games, beating the Bucks.
Chicago’s surge coincides with the return of Mirotic, who missed the beginning of the season after suffering facial fractures in an October fight with teammate Bobby Portis.
Kris Dunn rebounded from a 1-for-12 shooting game Saturday against Boston with 20 points and 12 assists in 33 minutes for the Bulls.