Phoenix Suns (16-7) vs. Dallas Mavericks (11-11)
December 5, 2022 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Dallas Mavericks -2.5; Over/Under: +222
(Get latest betting odds)
The Phoenix Suns pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on Monday night.
The Phoenix Suns have been in red-hot form as they’ve won seven of their last eight games and they will be eager to keep it going after making light work of the Spurs in a 133-95 road win last night. DeAndre Ayton led the team with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker each scored 20 points while Dario Saric chipped in with 17 points on six of eight shooting. As a team, the Suns shot 52 percent from the field and 19 of 37 from the 3-point line as they dominated the second quarter by 36-11 to take a 30-point lead into halftime which allowed them to rest their starters early.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have been in a real funk as they’ve lost five of their last seven games and they will be eager to stay hot after blowing past the Knicks in a 121-100 road win on Saturday. Luka Doncic led the team with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 28 points on 10 of 17 shooting while Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. As a team, the Mavericks shot 43 percent from the field and a sizzling 24 of 61 from the 3-point line as they got off to a cold start and scored just 20 points in the first quarter to trail by 15 points early, before they dominated the third quarter by 41-15 to run past the Knicks and make it look easy in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on zero days rest and 1-4 ATS in their last five road games against a team with a home record above .600. The Mavericks are 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 home games, 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 7-19-1 ATS in their last 27 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall, the Suns are 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings overall and the Suns are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings in Dallas.
The Suns will again be missing Chris Paul and Torrey Craig, while the Mavericks will be keeping an eye on Christian Wood who is questionable with an illness for this one. Doncic had the Suns’ number in the playoffs last season, but they beat them in a close one earlier this season and I think they can do it again. The Suns are playing their second game of a back to back set, but they were able to rest their starters early in last night’s win over the Spurs, so I expect them to come out firing in this grudge match. Give me the Suns to pull off the minor upset in this spot.
