The Phoenix Suns play host to the Dallas Mavericks in Orlando on Sunday.

The Mavericks (40-28) had a devastating loss in their Orlando opener, blowing a late lead at the hands of the Houston Rockets. Allowing 153 points is obviously the major reason why and it's clear they couldn't keep up with the Rockets small-ball. Kristaps Porzingis was plenty happy being the tallest player in that game though, falling just short of a 40-point, 20-rebound game. Luka Doncic provided a triple-double of his own as well but he committed eight turnovers and fouled out after going 11-of-27 from the field. That is obviously not efficient enough in an offensive showdown like that and it's scary to think he played poorly and still got a triple-double. An encouraging sign from that defeat was the help from their role players. Tim Hardaway Jr had 26 points and Trey Burke dropped 31 off the bench. If they can keep doing that, this team is in great shape going forward.

The Suns (27-39) are long-shots to reach the postseason at this point but a win on Friday is a step in the right direction. That victory needs to be taken into consideration though, beating up on a shorthanded Washington Wizards club. That team is without Bradley Beal, John Wall and Davis Bertans, so, anything but a win would have been a major disappointment. The young talent on this club is hard not to be impressed by though, with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton both performing at All-Star levels. If they can get Kelly Oubre Jr back from his injury and run with these guys, this club could be a threat in this short eight-game season.

This is the third meeting between these teams, with the two clubs splitting the first two matchups. In fact, the road team won both of those outings, with both games totaling over 233 points between them.