National reaction to Mavs’ season-opening loss vs. Suns: Damion Lee ends the ‘curse’

Despite strong performances from Luka Doncic and Christian Wood, the Mavericks opened the 2022-23 season with a loss on the road.

On Wednesday night against the Suns, Dallas built up a comfortable first-half lead and looked to be in the driver’s seat until the fourth quarter. Damion Lee ended up being the hero for Phoenix, as he hit a contested jumper in the game’s final seconds to give his team a 107-105 win.

Here are some of the national reactions to the Mavericks’ season-opening loss:

The Damion Lee Game just relieved the Suns of some sort of voodoo curse the Mavs had on them

— Kyle Irving (@KyleIrv_) October 20, 2022

Should Cooper Rush start over Luka Doncic?

— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) October 20, 2022

Luka Doncic just picked up his first technical foul of the season.

He’s on pace for 82 this season, which is a whole lotta suspensions and also the least of his worries rn.

— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) October 20, 2022

The Suns rediscover their late-game mojo and come all the way back for a gutsy win … with LOTS of Damion Lee (as opposed to Chris Paul) down the stretch.

From up 22, Dallas largely unraveled after Christian Wood’s offensive flurry appeared to usher the Mavericks to safety. https://t.co/dqYfhwdFAg

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 20, 2022

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