Wow, I'm pretty speechless. What happened? The Mavs stuck around through the third then crumbled. Even trailing by 5 at halftime, the Mavs seemed to be prepared to match the Suns on the other end of the floor. The Mavs three point shooting was nearly flawless (again, I'm just talking about the game up to the third quarter here).

The Suns killed the Mavs in the paint and under the basket. Devean George choked. Dirk had choke-like moments too often. Dampier got to sit on the bench and watch the mass choke-a-thon which could not be the most pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And Dirk's Fabrege ankle came into play again. Deep down I know that Dallas is, in my opinion, a better team than the Suns but there's something psychologically about Phoenix that throws Dallas off their game. I'm not big on conspiracy theories but the past three defeats the Mavs have been dealt were either at the hands of Don Nelson or Steve Nash. Spooky and rather unsettling.

I'm pretty bummed about the Mavs performance and I'm pretty sure this will stoke the fires of the MVP debate. But just mostly, I'm disappointed that something happened and the Mavs never caught fire and just let Suns bury them in the fourth.