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DALLAS – Isaiah Canaan got the ball with seven seconds left on the shot clock and the Suns nursing a three-point lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Sixty-nine seconds remained in the game. Dirk Nowitzki, all 7 feet of him, loomed over Canaan.

“That was the switch we wanted,” Canaan said.

Think about that for a minute. One week ago Canaan was playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers. The only reason he’s on the Suns roster is that Phoenix applied for an injury hardship exemption after Devin Booker got hurt.

It’s hard to fathom Canaan playing important minutes in the fourth quarter, much less wanting the ball against one of the NBA’s best players of the past 20 years.

But little makes sense about the Suns these days after they won their second straight road game by beating the Mavericks 97-91 at American Airlines Center.

Phoenix’s starters were 16 of 41 from the field. The Suns trailed 75-68 after a third quarter in which they had more turnovers (eight) than field goals (seven). But interim coach Jay Triano always has an ace up his sleeve.

Check that. And check under his sleeves, too, because Triano is holding five aces: His bench.

On Saturday, Phoenix’s reserves scored a season-high 69 points in a win over Minnesota. Monday, they had 55 of the Suns’ 97 points, 26 of the 49 rebounds, 16 of the 25 assists and, most importantly, 20 of Phoenix’s 29 points in the decisive fourth quarter.

The bench played so well that starters Tyler Ulis, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss and Tyson Chandler didn’t play a single second in the final 12 minutes.

“They’re doing a phenomenal job,” said T.J. Warren, who led the Suns with 19 points and made four free throws in the final 11 seconds to finish off Dallas. “They’re playing the right way, they’re playing free and they’re keeping us in games.”

Winning games, more like it.

Alex Len had his second straight double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. He also had four assists, giving him 10 over the past two games. Troy Daniels scored 12 and Mike James, who didn’t play against the Timberwolves, hit a 3-pointer with 4:51 left to give the Suns a five-point lead.

But it was Canaan who was the MVP for the second straight game. He finished with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds, with 11 of his 17 points coming in the fourth quarter. It’s hard to believe a point guard brought in less than a week ago can control a game – and a team – but that’s what Canaan has done.

“He’s made a huge difference,” Daniels said. “He’s a general on the court. We’re just following his lead.”

That includes on the defensive end, where the 6-foot, 200-pound Canaan fights through every screen as if it’s a personal affront. His tenaciousness and ability to stay with opposing point guards had a two-pronged effect in the fourth quarter, when Dallas was 6 of 23 from the field. Canaan’s teammates didn’t have to come off their man to help on the pick-and-roll and they were infected by his aggressiveness.

“He’s like a bulldog on the court,” Daniels said. “When guys see him do that we’re like, ‘We have to do that.’ ”

So back to that Canaan-Nowitzki moment.

The shot clock ticked down to six seconds. Five. Canaan, however, was anything but hurried or worried.

“We wanted to get him (Nowitzki) out on the ball screen and switch it,” Canaan said. “He can’t really move like he used to and I knew I had the advantage on him.”

Four seconds.

“Once I got my shoulders down I knew I could finish at the rim because he is not a shot blocker. I knew it was there. Once I got around him, all I had to do was just finish the layup.”

Except it wasn’t just a layup. It was a twisting, reverse bank shot that extended Phoenix’s lead to 93-88 lead and got some fans at American Airlines Center headed for the exits.

“It’s amazing,” Len said. “He changes the whole dynamic of this team.”

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