Not this time: Phoenix Suns finally quiet criticism over Doncic, Mavericks in season opener

The phrase "Luka broke the Suns" and viral photo of the Mavericks All-Star's sinister grin at Devin Booker's stoic face has trended since last season's West semifinals Game 7, in which Dallas routed the Suns at home.

That Luka Doncic meme came back strong during the first half of Wednesday's Dallas-Phoenix regular-season opener, as the Mavericks again were dominating the Suns at Footprint Center.

It took the Suns' 22-point rally, capped by Damion Lee's contested go-ahead baseline shot in the closing seconds, for them to win, 107-105, and quell the ongoing ridicule about Luka destroying them.

“It’s one of those games where you just have to stay with it and live with the results. I was just proud that we didn’t give in,” Suns coach Monty Williams said in the postgame.

“(Booker) was really good in the huddles. When we were down 15, I heard – I didn’t see it – but I heard he got the guys together and told them, like, ‘This is nothing. We gotta stay here.’ And we’ve been talking about that all of training camp, like how can we deal with the emotional ups and downs through the game. I thought that helped us win the game tonight.”

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The first half on Wednesday seemed like a terrible déjà vu in which Doncic produced 20 of his total 35 points, scoring at will like his 27-point first-half performance in Game 7.

The Suns' perimeter defense struggled against the Mavericks. Williams said his team got in trouble when they stopped blitzing Doncic as they tried to figure out their switches.

“They stopped blitzing. They were switching, showing with some guys and just switched different," Doncic said in the postgame. "But I don’t think the offense was really a problem. In the first half, we played great defense and from defense led to offense.”

The Mavericks shot 50% overall and hit eight from beyond the arc in the first half before they finished with 14. That's similar to the nine they made in Game 7's first half and 19 total. Their other starters Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points) and Reggie Bullock (10 points) each hit three from deep. The Suns went on a 19-3 run in the third quarter and shaved the Mavericks' lead to five entering the fourth.

But it was Doncic who had the Suns' attention from the start.

"He's got great size. He has a great feel. His vision and timing, he's one of those guys who can do it all," Williams said about Doncic in the pregame media session.

"He mesmerizes people in the paint and picks up a lot of assists because you're just staring at him and then he kicks it out for a 3. That keeps you off balance and that speaks to his feel. But his size and strength, you don't see that with a guy who handles the ball or has such a high usage. Most guys who have high usage are probably not 6-7, whatever he is, 230, 235 (pounds)."

Mavericks big Christian Wood (25 points) caught fire early in the final period when he sank three of his four total and pushed the lead up to 12 at the 10:31 mark. He said Doncic's presense helped.

“...You have to double Luka," Wood said after the game, about getting open on 3s from short pick-and-roll situations with Doncic. "He’s just that big of a factor, and if you double him then you have to deal with me in the short roll, then you have a 40% shooter on the weak side, so it’s kind of hard to guard. I think that’s what gave us the lead.”

Although the Suns shot better at 41% in Wednesday's first half than their 24.4% in Game 7, they bricked a lot from deep by going 2-for-10 nearly like their 3-for-14 in their season-ending game.

Then the Suns' 17-4 run that began at 7:18 sparked the hope in the crowd to rise up and help drive their team to victory.

“I think our (physicality), the way we played on defense, (Suns) only scored 45 points in the first half, which was amazing," Doncic said in the postgame.

"Then they scored 31 in both quarters, third and fourth. We just can’t relax, you know. We gotta play hard no matter what the score is, if we’re down 20, started with whatever, we gotta play the same. Our principles are just to continue playing.”

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Doncic attributed their 12 turnovers and 13 missed free throws, which he called "free points," to why they lost. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also spoke about their 13 of 34 attempts missed, including three in the fourth quarter.

"If you are going to get to the line 30-plus times. you can’t make 21 and shoot 60 percent," Kidd said. "You cannot be an elite team in this league if you are not going to make free throws. We did a great job of attempts, but you have to put those in."

The Suns got their first lead from Cameron Payne's layup to go up 101-100 at 3:10 in the fourth, and Lee hit his third 3 at 1:38. Doncic then got called for a technical foul for the way he threw the ball back to an official when the Mavericks called a full timeout.

After Booker's made free throw to extend the lead 105-100, Doncic hit two free throws 17 seconds later and Lee fouled him on a drive for an and-one to tie the score.

Following Doncic's final missed 3 at the buzzer, and after his grins through his first 10 shots, he claims he wasn't upset about the technical foul and Phoenix's win.

“I don’t think I was frustrated at all. I think I was good today,” Doncic said. “I mean, it’s just the first game and I’m just happy to be back and it’s a lot of games to go.”

Have tips for us? Reach the reporter at dana.scott@azcentral.com or at 480-486-4721. Follow his Twitter @iam_DanaScott.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Luka Doncic, Mavericks didn't break Suns again in their season opener