Suns burn Mavs in Game 3

Jim Jackson, who replaced the injured Joe Johnson in the starting lineup, had 17 points and eight rebounds to help the Suns take a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Sunday in Dallas.

"It was just a great team effort," remarked Phoenix head coach Mike D’Antoni.

Johnson suffered a displaced fracture of his left orbital bone after being fouled hard underneath the basket by Stackhouse in Wednesday’s 108-106 Dallas win in Game 2. He is likely to miss Sunday’s game as well and his availability for the rest of the series is unclear.

"We got one for Joe," Nash said. "We all feel sick for what happened to him."

Dirk Nowitzki amassed 21 points and 13 rebounds but was just 8-of-24 from the field for the Mavericks, who shot just 39 percent and were a woeful 1-of-18 from three-point range. Jerry Stackhouse netted 20 points off the bench.

"We weren’t making shots," said Dallas head coach Avery Johnson. "We’ll be ready to play in Game 4."

The Suns shot a sizzling 50 percent (11-of-22) from beyond the arc and broke open a close game with a 15-0 run late in the fourth quarter.

Clinging to a 97-96 lead with 5 1/2 minutes to play, Nash made 1-of-2 free throws and Shawn Marion and Jackson buried back-to-back three-pointers to extend the margin to eight as the game neared the four-minute mark.

Jackson made it a double-digit game with a tip-in with 3:31 remaining and Nash drove the lane and scored on consecutive possessions to give Phoenix a commanding 108-96 advantage. Marion capped the deciding spurt with a steal and dunk with 1:53 left.

"I thought the whole second half we had a really good rhythm," Nash said. "We were a little more confident and there was a little more urgency."

Dallas trailed 87-79 with under a minute left in the third quarter but scored nine of the next 10 points to draw even. Stackhouse started the run with a three-pointer to close out the period and Jason Terry ended it with a pair of baskets, including a short jumper with 9:40 left which tied the game at 88-88.

Phoenix regrouped and went ahead 95-90 when Nash fed Stoudemire for an easy basket with just under eight minutes to go. However, Stackhouse hit a jumper and Nowitzki made a driving layup to cut the Mavs’ deficit to one with six minutes to play.

The Suns held a 60-59 halftime lead on the strength of 25 points by Stoudemire, who made good on 8-of-11 field-goal attempts before the break. Phoenix extended it with a string of seven straight points in the third quarter. After a Nash layup Quentin Richardson buried a three-pointer and Jackson made a short jumper at the 7:05 mark to put Phoenix up 72-63.

Three made free throws by Nowitzki, the first a technical, put Dallas up 38-31 three minutes into the second quarter, but Phoenix answered with an 8-0 run capped by Leandro Barbosa’s transition layup to forge ahead.

The Mavericks moved back in front moments later when Josh Howard sank two foul shots and held a slim edge through most of the second quarter. Dallas led 57-54 heading into the final two minutes of the half before Stoudemire threw down jams off Nash feeds on Phoenix’s next two possessions. Howard and Stackhouse each hit 1-of-2 from the foul line to send Dallas up 59-58, but a Barbosa layup with 15 seconds left staked the Suns to a one-point cushion at intermission.

Dallas put together an 8-0 run spanning the closing seconds of the first quarter and the beginning stages of the second to take its biggest lead of the night at 35-27.